UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

ATURBANA-CHAMPAIGN 
ILL,  HIST.  SURVEY 


_ 


....CALL  AND  St:C.... 

E.  E.  ROBERTS 
...ARcnrrecT... 

N§  9    DUNLOP'S   BANK   BUILDING 
OAK  PARK,  ILL. 


PHONE  1123 


DESIGNER 

...  or.... 

HOMELIKE  HOMES 

IN 

OAK  PARK.  RIVER  TOREST. 

AUSTIN 
AND  VICINITY 


August  Terneak  &  Co. 

HANUFACTURERS  OF 

Carpets, 

>J<  Rugs,          ^ 

and  Curtains 

PLUSH  RUGS  AND  CARPETS 

A  SPECIALTY. 


Made  From 
Old  or  New  Scraps  of 
Carpet 


126    LAKE     STREET 

OAK  PARK,  ILL. 


Ladies  will  find  it  to  their  interest  to  patronize  the 
Oak  Park  Weaving  Shop. 


The  Art  of  Wood  Carpet  Making 


JON.     DUNFEE. 


104  FRANKLIN  STREET. 


Beautiful  Woods  Produce  Fine  Effects  in  Colors. 


Hardwood  floors  have  come  to  be  regarded  as  indispensable  in 
in  comfortable  and  well  appointed  homes.  The  growing  tendency  to 
substitute  them  for  carpets  is  owing  partly  to  important  sanitary 
reasons,  partly  to  the  demands  of  cultivated  and  refined  taste,  and 
partly  to  considerations  of  economy.  An  ornamental  floor  is  of  fa 
greater  utility  than  a  common  floor  of  hardwood,  whether  rugs  ar 
used  or  not.  It  constitutes  an  important  and  attractive  feature  o 
modern  interior  decoration.  Millions  of  feet  of  lumber  from  all  part 
of  the  world  are  used  annually.  It  is  claimed  by  the  men  engagi 
in  this  line  of  work,  that  hardwood  flooring  in  the  long  run,  is  eight 
times  as  cheap  as  carpet.  An  ordinary  sized  room  can  be  laid  for 
from  $25.00  to  $40.00,  the  price  going  as  high  as  one  wishes,  the  cost 
depending  upon  design  and  variety  of  material. 

Mr.  Ounfee  is  an  old  resident  of  Chicago,  having  come  here  in 
1868  from  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  born  in  1842.  He  took  up  his 
residence  in  Austin  in  1872,  where  he  has  amassed  a  large  quantity  of 
property.  He  was  the  first  to  engage  in  the  Wood  Carpet  Business, 
of  which  he  is  the  founder,  and  has  been  engaged  in  it  since  1873. 


Congleton  &  Abbott 


124  &  126  MARION  STREET 


THE  POPULAR 


Livery  and  Boarding 
Stables 


TELEPHONE  21 


OAK  PARK, 


ILLINOIS 


William  S.  Johnston  &  Sons 

Carriage  and  Wagon 
Manufacturers.... 


Give  special  attention 

to  Carriage  Repairing,  /3i|\ 

Trimming  and  \2^/ 

Painting 

.^^  Do  also  a  General 

(SpQ  Blacksmithing 

^2V  Business 


Bicycles  Built 
to  Order 


COLUMBIA 


Chain  and 
Chainless  Wheels 


At  all  prices  for 
sale  and  to  rent 


Best  facilities  in 

Oak  Park 

for  Storage  of 

Bicycles 

First-Class 
Up-to-date 
Tandems  and 
Single  Wheels 
to  Rent. 


Electrical  material  for  sale 
and  repairing  done 

WRIGHT  ELSOM,  Jr. 

117  Marion  Street 
Near  the  Post  Office.  ....OAK  PARK. 


BUY  ONE  OF  OUR  New  Modern  Houses 
Built  upon  50  feet  of  ground. 

$3.000  to  $3,500  will  buy  a  home  you  will  be 
proud  of.  You  can  pay  for  it,  $50  cash  and 
$25  per  month  will  do  it.  No  extra  interest. 

Our  homes  are  built  in  the  beautiful  suburb  of 

MAYWOOD 

which  offers  all  modern  conveniences.     Best  of  Artesian 

water.   Sewerage  and  Electric  Lights.  Paved  walks,  Cement 

walks.    Churches,  Schools,  Stores, 

TWO  LINES  OF  RAILROAD 

Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad  (Wells  Street  Depot) 
Chicago  Great  Western  Railroad  (Fifth  Ave,  and  Harrison  St.) 

Madison  Street  Electric  Cars 

Stone  Foundations,      Cement  Basements.      Parquet  Floors, 

Oak  Trimmings  and  Mantels,  Nickel  Plumbing.  Bathrooms 

Complete.    Broad  Verandas,    Tasty  Painting. 


Proviso  Land  Association 


34  Clark  Street,  Chicago. 

19th  and  St.  Charles  Aves,,  Maywood 


E.  A.  CUMMINQS     ) 

H.  Q.  FOREHAN       ^-Trustees 

JAS.  J.  ncCARTHYi 


EUGENE  H.  FISHBURN,  Secretary 
Win.  M.  HULBERT,  Manager 


HALLEY'S 

PICTORIAL  OAK  PARK 


CONTAINING 


STREET  VIEWS,  BUSINESS   BLOCKS,  STREET  SCENES,  CLUB  HOUSES,  LITERARY  INSTITUTIONS,  SCHOOLS, 

CHURCHES,  PRIVATE  RESIDENCES,  PORTRAITS  OF  PROMINENT  CITIZENS,  TOGETHER  WITH 

HISTORICAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES,  DESCRIPTIONS,  STATISTICS,  ETC. 


WILLIAM   HALLEY,  PUBLISHER, 

OAK   PARK,  ILL. 


PREFACE. 

(H  I    HIS  little  work  is  only  a  humble  beginning-.     It  by  no  means  fills  the  comple- 
J  I        ment  of  Oak  Park's  many  merits.     To  the  author  its  preparation  has  been 
^i_I_     a  labor  of  love.      It  is  only  a  sample  of  what  is  in  store  for  the  admirers 
of  the  town,  and  of  what  is  to  come  hereafter.     The  effort  has  been  to 
accomplish  all  that  is  possible  for  a  popular  price,  and  put  the  work  within  the 
reach  of  all,  that  it  may  have  a  wide  circulation  and   be  a  valuable  advertisement. 
I  think  it  will  be  admitted  that  the  views  are  all  striking-  and  the  portraits  life- 
— -like.     The  few  chapters  of  history  that  are  presented  are  correct  and  valuable,  and 
I  only  regret  that  space  and  time  compels  me  to  curtail  the  volume  of  information. 
This  work  is  a  necessity.     It  is  at  once  a  souvenir,  an  advertisement  and  a 
record.     It  will  make  a  handsome  table  ornament;  it  will  make  an  appropriate  pres- 
ent for  friends  at  a  distance;  and  it  will  stir  up  some  local  pride  and  emulation. 

To  the  many  friends  who  have  kindly  encouraged  me  with  their  patronage  and 
with  their  names  as  subscribers  in  advance,  I  am  exceedingly  grateful.  For  the 
shortcomings  of  the  work  I  bespeak  kindly  consideration,  and  promise  to  do  better 
next  time.  TRE  PUBLISHER> 


IJI'SI  XKSS  SUCTION T^«.kini!-  West  on  Lake  Street  from  Park  PI; 


WHAT  OUR  HISTORY  CONSISTS  OF. 

Oak  Park  history  is  not  strongly  marked  nor  notably  eventful.  It  is  a  story  of  first  beginnings  and 
quiet  and  assured  progress.  The  arts  of  peace  are  the  only  arts  that  have  ever  been  cultivated  here.  We 
have  never  been  belligerent,  even  in  the  best  of  causes.  We  have  not  developed  any  marked  peculiarity 
in  the  way  of  municipal  methods,  mentality,  politics  or  religion.  No  one  has  distinguished  our  town  by 
being  the  especial  apostle  of  any  particular  species  of  doctrine  or  ethics.  We  have  given  to  the  world  no 
hero,  no  great  genius  ;  we  have  cultivated  no  species.  Our  only  claim  is  that  by  purpose  and  perseverance 
we  have  built  up  a  beautiful  town  that  is  possessed  of  every  home  advantage.  What  might  have  been  a 
reproach  in  the  way  of  selling  intoxicants  we  got  rid  of  at  an  early  date,  and  Oak  Park  has  been  always  a 
temperance  town  since  the  country  taverns  and  "mile"  houses  were  abolished. 

Cutting  down  forest  trees  and  planting  ornamental  ones,  laying  out,  grading  and  paving  streets, 
building  sidewalks,  constructing  ditches,  drains  and  sewers,  has  been  one  constant  practice  of  our  people. 
Platting  subdivisions  and  putting  them  in  the  market  has  been  another.  Providing  cheap  and  frequent 
means  of  transportation  to  and  from  the  city  of  Chicago  is  one  particular  thing  that  we  have  never  lost  sight 
of.  Our  people  have  contributed  most  freely  and  effectually  to  the  providing  of  schools,  churches,  literary 
institutions  and  means  of  recreation.  Whatever  domestic  battles  have  ever  been  fought  here  have  been 
on  behalf  of  progress  and  better  conditions,  and  no  feeling  of  hostility  animates  any  portion  of  our  people. 
We  have  reclaimed  the  wilderness,  have  set  up  the  standard  of  civilization,  and  now  freely  offer  of  what 
we  have  to  those  who  appreciate  our  labors  and  are  desirous  of  joining  with  us  in  the  good  work  of  making 
life  more  enjoyable,  time  more  precious  and  results  more  certain.  Our  soil  is  good,  our  air  and  water  are 
pure,  our  methods  are  in  accord  with  the  demands  of  enlightenment,  and  we  aim  to  obtain  the  best  possible 
results  that  an  advanced  community  can  wish  for.  Our  history  is  free  from  splashes  of  blood  and  acts  of 
violence,  and  open  a  chapter  where  you  will,  there  is  nothing  visible  that  is  revolting  or  gross.  So  we  hope 
to  have  it  continue  to  the  end.  We  do  not  boast  of  any  "flush  times"  nor  lament  any  ruinous  depres- 
sions. The  town  has  never  gone  backward  even  in  the  worst  of  times,  nor  has  an  epidemic  of  any  kind 
ever  decimated  our  population,  as -they  have  always  observed  hygienic  laws. 

4 


DELIGHTFUL  INDUCEMENTS. 

Oak  Park  is  located  eight  miles  west  of  the  Chicago  river,  with  an  abundant  elevation.  It  is  a  bower 
of  beauty.  It  is  the  home  of  luxury  and  refinement.  Here  education  flourishes  and  religion  and  temper- 
ance triumph.  There  is  no  place  for  anything  that  savors  of  discord  or  disorder.  Saloons  are  excluded. 
Animals  are  not  allowed  to  roam  at  large,  and  a  hog  or  a  cow  is  never  seen  on  a  street.  The  streets  are 
always  cleanly  kept.  One  feels  relaxation  and  comfort  within  its  borders  and  along  its  shaded  walks.  The 
eye  is  ever  pleased  with  the  appearance  of  beauteous  objects.  Gayly  dressed  children  run  and  romp,  and 
the  air  is  vocal  with  the  music  of  their  sweet  voices. 

Churches,  schools  and  society  halls  meet  the  eye  at  every  turn.  Whether  it  be  of  material  wants, 
commercial  facilities,  educational  requirements,  spiritual  desires,  social  economics,  political  propaganda, 
art,  music  or  literature,  there  is  an  abundance  of  all  to  be  found  here.  Shade  trees  and  shrubbery  enrich 
the  scenery.  The  boulevards,  avenues  and  streets  are  broad,  well  paved  and  well  ordered. 

Many  of  the  houses  of  Oak  Park  are  palatial.  Every  modern  style  of  architecture  prevails  and  pleases 
the  imagination  and  the  eye.  The  "yards"  are  capacious  and  ever  green,  and  generally  gemmed  with 
flowers.  There  are  no  manufactories,  excepting  such  as  are  desired  for  building  purposes. 

One  of  the  first  considerations  for  a  suburban  city  is  cheap  and  rapid  transit.  Oak  Park  has  this. 
Two  steam  railroads  (the  Chicago  &  North-Western  and  Chicago  &  Great  Western)  carrying  suburban 
passengers,  run  through  it  and  have  convenient  stations.  One  elevated  railroad  line,  with  a  five-cent  fare, 
carrying  passengers  from  the  western  extremity  of  the  town  to  Chicago  and  around  the  "loop  "  is  about 
ready  for  business;  another  trolley  line  doubles  the  town,  and  will  soon  encircle  it;  five  other  trolley  lines  ply 
on  principal  thoroughfares,  putting  us  in  communication  with  Chicago  and  neighboring  villages,  so  that 
this  beautiful  city  has  nothing  further  to  desire  in  the  way  of  transportation  facilities. 

Within  a  few  minutes'  ride  of  Oak  Park  to  the  east  is  the  beautiful  Garfield  park  of  Chicago.  To  the 
west  of  it,  a  mile  distant,  is  the  Des  Plaines  river,  with  its  romantic  windings,  banks  of  grass  and  shrub- 
bery, and  pleasant  paths.  The  woods  of  River  Forest  are  of  easy  access  and  always  open  to  the  stroller, 
while  fields  that  are  Elysian  are  spread  about  as  if  for  a  feast  for  eyes. 


r 


TMXKs-,  S|.;CTI<>\ O.rnrr  Marion  Strivl  :nnl  North  Iloulcrnrd. 


The  dimensions  of  Oak  Park  are  three  miles,  north  to  south,  and  one  and  one-half  miles,  east  to  west. 
The  handsome  city  of  Austin  stands  between  it  and  the  metropolitan  limits.  Oak  Park  is  just  far  enough 
from  Chicago,  but  not  too  far.  The  theaters  and  other  places  of  amusement  can  be  reached  in  forty 
minutes.  Hotels  and  boarding-  houses  are  numerous  and  good,  and  the  town  is  especially  sought  as  a 
delightful  place  for  summer  residence. 

The  main  arteries  of  Chicago  that  run  west  are  the  principal  streets  of  Oak  Park— Chicago  avenue, 
Lake  street,  Madison  street,  Adams  street,  Twelfth  street,  etc. 

The  water  used  is  supplied  by  nine  artesian  wells  of  great  depth,  and  is  abundant.  Both  gas  and 
electric  light  are  used  for  illuminating  purposes,  and  gas  is  extensively  used  for  heating  and  cooking 
purposes. 

Oak  Park  has  a  hearty  welcome  for  all  new  comers.  Her  hospitality  is  warm  and  her  lots  are  cheap. 
If  not  here  already,  come  and  join  us. 

OAK  PARK'S  EARLY  RIVAL. 

Before  Oak  Park  had  burst  its  shell  a  gentleman  named  John  Henry  Quick,  a  retired  merchant  who 
resided  in  New  York,  commenced  investing  in  western  real  estate,  and  taking  a  fancy  to  the  beauty  of  the 
land  in  this  locality,  bought  the  farm  which  a  pioneer  named  Whaples  owned,  immediately  west  of  that 
belonging  to  Joseph  Kettlestrings  at  the  Oak  Ridge.  That  was  in  1856.  There  was  then  no  municipal 
control  established,  and  Mr.  Quick  had  his  own  way  in  everything.  He  named  the  streets;  he  laid  out  the 
blocks;  he  built  the  sidewalks. 

In  1849  the  Chicago  &  Galena  Union  railroad  (now  the  Chicago  &  North-Western)  established  a 
station  at  the  corner  of  what  is  now  Central  avenue  and  William  street  in  this  locality.  Opposite  to  this,  in 
1856,  Mr.  Quick  built  a  two-story  hotel,  and  Mr.  Israel  Heller  put  up  a  store  building  at  the  corner  of  Lake 
and  William  streets,  which  he  occupied  himself,  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Kate  Pattock,  as  partner.  Mr.  Quick 
also  built  a  private  residence  on  Lake  street,  near  to  where  Pioneer  Whaples'.  log  house  was  erected. 


The  east  and  west  streets  were  Railroad  avenue  (now  Central  avenue),  and  Lake  street  was  Pennsyl- 
vania avenue.  Madison  avenue  remains  the  same.  The  north  and  south  streets  were  nearly  the  same  as 
now,  only  that  Harlem  avenue  was  Washington  avenue.  John,  Henry  and  William  streets — family  names 
— remain  unchanged. 

Mr.  Quick  proceeded  slowly  to  build  up  his  town.  He  needed  a  postoffice.  The  postoffice  that  then 
served  a  large  section  of  country  in  Cicero  and  Proviso  was  located  on  the  west  side  of  the  Desplaines 
river  at  the  "Ten  Mile  House,"  and  was  named  "  Noyesville."  After  some  time  Mr.  Quick  secured  the 
transfer  of  this  to  Harlem  (retaining  the  old  name),  and  it  was  located  in  the  "  Harlem  House,"  under  the 
management  of  a  Mr.  Archdeacon.  He  tried  to  get  the  name  changed  to  Harlem,  but  in  this  he  failed, 
because  there  was  an  office  with  the  same  name  already  established  in  Winnebago  county,  and  the  people 
there  could  not  be  induced  to  give  up  that  name  for  any  other. 

Mr.  Quick  was  a  pious  minded  man,  and  he  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  establishment  of  a  church. 
An  Episcopal  congregation  was  got  together  in  1862,  which  at  first  held  service  in  the  brick  school  house  in 
River  Forest,  and  afterward  in  a  room  adjoining  the  hotel.  Its  first  rector  was  a  Rev.  Alexander  Ful- 
lerton,  who  came  from  Philadelphia,  and  who  now  figures  as  "general  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Theosophical  Society  of  America."  In  1867  Christ  church,  which  is  situated  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
Lake  and  John  streets,  was  built  and  opened  for  service,  Mr.  Quick's  liberal  contribution  being  the  chief 
factor  in  its  building.  He  also  contributed  largely  to  paying  the  minister's  salary.  The  enterprising 
gentleman  also  erected  a  row  of  tenement  houses  on  Madison  avenue,  one  block  north  of  Lake  street, 
which  had  its  origin  in  a  barn,  and  which  came  to  be  known  as  "The  Barracks."  He  also  built  the 
"double  house  "  on  Lake  street,  which  underwent  many  mutations — from  elevator  to  barn,  from  barn  to 
store,  from  store  to  private  house,  and  finally  the  "double house." 

In  I860  there  came  to  Harlem,  from  his  Proviso  farm,  an  intelligent  and  enterprising  gentleman 
named  Augustin  Porter,  who  built  the  first  brick  house  in  the  place — that  on  Central  avenue,  corner  of 
John  street — and  in  front  of  which  the  railroad  station  was  afterward  placed.  The  house  has  since  been 
largely  added  to,  and  is  now  occupied  by  Judge  Porter's  daughter,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Moore  Furbeck  and  her 
daughter  and  son-in-law,  Mrs.  and  Mr.  A.  M.  Titus.  Judge  Porter  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  Proviso 

10 


EJL-S1NKSS  SKCT10N Oak  Park  A 


township,  and  held  court  in  an  adjoining-  frame  building-,  which  came  to  be  known  as  "Porter's  Court 
House."  Judge  Porter  also  erected  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Geo.  Vorass  as  a  grocery  store,  at 
89  Lake  street,  in  1866.  He  also  erected  one  of  the  first  houses  in  Oak  Park,  at  the  northeast  corner  of 
Lake  street  and  Harlem  avenue,  which  was  moved  back  on  the  lot  when  Steiner's  store  was  built  on  the 
same  spot.  Judge  Porter  died  in  1880. 

Mrs.  Kate  Pattock,  afterward  Mrs.  William  Steiner,  when  she  separated  in  business  from  her 
brother,  Israel  Heller,  set  up  for  herself  in  Quick's  store  building-,  now  the  "double  house,"  which  had 
previously  been  used  for  trading  purposes  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Furbeck.  The  frame  house  now  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Sturgess,  a  little  west  of  John  street  on  Central  avenue,  was  built  by  Mr.  Jonas  McCreary,  and  is  the 
oldest  house  on  that  old  street.  The  first  meat  market  was  carried  on  by  Christian  Schlund,  before  he 
removed  across  the  line  to  Oak  Park.  The  hotel  building-  was  removed  from  Central  avenue  to  Lake  street, 
and  its  present  owner  is  Mr.  A.  Westphal,  who  now  carries  on  a  bottling  business  in  the  west  wing  of  it, 
which  he  built  and  used  for  a  grocery  store  for  several  years.  The  hotel  has  not  been  used  as  such  for 
four  or  five  years,  River  Forest  having  become  a  prohibition  village.  Some  of  the  prominent  former 
residents  of  the  old  town  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spitzer,  father  and  mother  of  Mrs.  Whaples;  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chas.  Roe  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Harvey.  Among  the  old  residents  who  still  reside  there  are 
Christian  Schlund,  H.  H.  Scharenberg,  Frank  Hillmer  and  A.  Westphal. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Quick,  the  father  of  the  town,  died  in  New  York  in  1872,  and  his  son,  J.  H.  S.  Quick,  was  his 
heir.  It  was  hard  to  do  business  with  the  elder  Quick,  but  it  became  a  great  deal  harder  to  have  trans- 
actions with  his  son,  who  is  a  lawyer.  The  people  became  discouraged.  The  postoffice  was  taken  away, 
the  railroad  station  was  removed,  and  even  Christ  church  congregation  became  dissatisfied,  withdrew  and 
organized  Grace  Episcopal  church  in  Oak  Park  in  1879.  Mr.  J.  H.  S.  Quick  retired  from  the  scene  after  his 
house  was  burned  down,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Chicago,  but  coming  out  every  Sunday  to  read  prayers 
in  the  old  church,  which  he  still  keeps  open,  aided  by  a  few  old  and  faithful  adherents.  The  little  old  post- 
office  building  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street,  opposite  WestphaPs,  where  Mr.  Pack  last  had  the  Noyes- 
ville  postoffice,  was  torn  down  two  or  three  years  ago,  and  the  glory  of  old  Harlem  departed. 

12 


THE  EARLY  PIONEERS. 

When  Joseph  Kettlestring-s  first  cast  his  anxious  eyes  on  the  Oak  Ridge  in  1833,  there  was  not  a  vest- 
ige of  civilization  visible.  Chicago  itself  was  only  an  outpost  village  of  a  few  inhabitants,  lately  arrived. 
There  were  no  railroads,  no  country  roads.  There  were,  however,  few  Indians  to  fight,  no  trees  to  blaze 
for  pathways  through  dense  forests,  but  still,  the  pioneers,  who  are  always  regarded  as  "God's  own 
people,"  had  hardships  enough  to  endure.  The  land  was  not  yet  pre-empted  nor  open  for  settlement, 
and  those  who  had  settled  were  simply  "  squatters." 

About  a  mile  from  the  Oak  Ridge,  on  the  Aux  Plaines  river  (now  Desplaines)  in  the  year  1831,  an 
adventurous  Englishman  named  George  Bickerdike,  with  a  partner  named  Mark  Noble,  Jr.,  ventured  to 
start  a  small  saw  mill,  which  did  a  precarious  business,  as  the  consumers  of  lumber  were  "  few  and  far 
between."  This  man  Bickerdike  left  behind  him  in  Yorkshire  a  friend  with  the  rather  peculiar  name  of 
Kettlestrings,  whom  he  invited  to  join  him  in  the  "  Prairie  State,"  then  the  foremost  "  Land  of  Promise  " 
in  America. 

In  1833  Joseph  Kettlestrings,  the  man  alluded  to,  a  sturdy  specimen  of  a  "Britisher,"  accompanied  by 
a  willing  helpmeet  and  three  rosy  children,  appeared  upon  the  scene.  Kettlestrings  went  to  work  with  his 
friend  Bickerdike  in  the  saw  mill  and  became  a  partner  in  the  concern.  Here  he  continued  for  two  years, 
his  wife  in  the  meantime  "  boarding  the  hands." 

In  1835,  when  the  land  was  open  for  pre-emption,  he  purchased  the  quarter  section  known  as  the  Oak 
Ridge,  and  he  chose  it  because  "  it  was  the  only  dry  land  between  Chicago  and  the  Aux  Plaines."  Here  he 
built  a  house.  It  was  of  oak  boards.  It  was  on  the  spot  where  is  now  Mr.  Walther's  residence,  114  and 
116  Lake  street.  This  was  the  first  house  of  any  kind  ever  built  in  Oak  Park.  It  was  the  first  sign  that 
civilization  had  reached  here.  To  this  house,  it  is  said,  Mr.  Kettlestrings  built  an  addition  of  two  rooms, 
one  for  a  dining  room  and  one  for  a  bar  room,  and  started  a  tavern,  which  he  christened  the  "Oak  Ridge 
House."  It  answered  to  nine  miles  from  Chicago.  It  was  not  a  very  comfortable  abode,  because  the  oak- 
boards  warped  and  "let  in  the  weather."  His  land  entry  consisted  of  173  acres,  and  he  received  his 

14 


STREET  SCENES. 


government  patent  for  it  March  30,  1837.  The  locality  soon  got  the  name  of  "  Kettlestring-s'  Grove."  The 
sale  of  the  public  lands  caused  more  travel  and  business  for  the  tavern,  but  in  1837  Mr.  Kettlestrings 
rented  it  to  a  man  named  George  Scofield,  who  kept  it  for  a  few  years,  Mr.  Kettlestrings  building  another 
house  for  himself  on  a  portion  of  the  land  further  to  the  east,  and  pursuing  farming.  Scofield  subsequently 
removed  to  York  Center,  where  he  started  a  tavern  and  died. 

In  1843  Mr.  Kettlestrings  took  a  long  departure  from  his  oak  grove  home,  and  lived  in  Chicago  with 
his  family  for  twelve  years.  This  was  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  educating  his  children,  who  had  become 
numerous.  In  Chicago  he  was  mostly  engaged  at  corporation  work,  opening  up  and  grading  new  streets. 
He  returned  to  his  farm  in  1855.  From  this  year  dates  progress  in  town  building,  but  the  progress  was 
mostly  on  the  land  adjoining  his  on  the  west — on  that  purchased  of  Mr.  Whaples  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Quick, 
as  already  described. 

The  second  settler  in  Oak  Park  was  Mr.  Reuben  Whaples,  who  came  here  in  1845.  He  had  been 
farming  in  the  town  of  Proviso,  or  as  it  was  then  known,  "Lyons  Precinct,"  about  a  mile  from  what  was 
afterward  known  as  the  "big  slough."  A  great  wind,  or  tornado,  such  as  is  now  described  as  a  cyclone, 
swept  through  the  settlement  that  year,  as  all  the  old  settlers  well  remember,  and  carried  off  Mr. 
Whaples'  house,  as  well  as  all  his  other  belongings,  and  scattered  them  widely  over  the  unlimited  prairie. 
He  determined  he  would  remain  there  no  longer.  With  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Ashbel  Steele,  who  resided 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Desplaines  river,  he  recovered  what  he  could  of  his  effects  and  removed  to  Kettle- 
strings'  grove,  settling  on  the  quarter  section  immediately  west  of  Kettlestrings'  line.  Here  he  built 
him  a  very  substantial  log  house  that  no  big  wind  could  blow  away.  The  family  found  shelter  in  Steele's 
until  this  structure  was  finished.  The  material  for  its  building  was  at  hand,  growing  on  the  ground.  Mr. 
Whaples  sold  this  beautiful  property  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Quick,  of  Harlem,  N.  Y.,  on  which  to  start  his  town 
of  Harlem,  and  Mr.  Whaples  purchased  a  portion  of  Mr.  Kettlestrings'  farm  for  a  home.  He  erected 
a  frame  house  which  is  now  a  portion  of  the  Presbyterian  church  manse  on  Lake  street.  Mr.  Whaples 
died  Oct.  20,  1865. 

An  early  settler  was  Mr.  Ralph  Wade,  an  Englishman,  who  came  here  from  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  in  1852. 

16 


STKKKT  SCKXKs. 


He  farmed  on  the  spot  now  known  as  Fair  Oaks.  He  worked  for  Mr.  Kettlestrings  for  a  while,  and  also 
as  g-ardener  for  Mr.  H.  W.  Austin.  He  died  in  1893,  at  an  advanced  age,  leaving  one  son  and  six  grand- 
children. His  son,  Robert  James  Wade,  who  died  in  1897,  was  born  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the 
Scoville  Institute  in  1853,  and  was  forty-four  years  of  age.  Three  daughters  and  two  sons  of  the  latter 
now  reside  at  310  Ontario  street,  at  their  father's  and  grandfather's  last  place  of  residence. 

Mr.  Ferdinand  Haase,  the  well  known  president  of  Forest  Home  cemetery,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
Germany,  visited  this  locality  in  1849,  and  his  description  of  conditions  at  that  time  is  vejry  interesting. 
He  says  the  only  persons  he  remembers  residing  at  or  near  Oak  Park  were  the  Whaples  family  and  the 
Steele  family  on  the  east  side  of  the  Desplaines  river.  The  Kettlestrings  were  then  in  Chicago.  The 
Chicago  &  Galena  Union  railroad  was  in  course  of  construction,  and  had  got  as  far  as  the  Desplaines  river. 
He  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  Prussian  army,  and  brought  a  rifle  with  him.  He  was  a  harness  maker  by 
trade,  but  could  work  at  anything.  The  first  job  he  "  struck  "  in  Chicago  was  taking  charge  of  a  load  of 
building  materials,  placed  on  a  flat  car,  and  piled  up  around  his  person,  and  which  was  to  be  unloaded 
by  him  at  its  destination  at  the  Desplaines  river.  In  performing  this  task  he  had  a  very  unhappy  time 
of  it.  The  car  shook  terribly.  The  boards  and  scantlings  closed  in  upon  him  in  an  almost  inextricable 
manner,  nearly  killing  him.  He  had  no  assistance  in  unloading,  and  the  train  men  were  angry  because  he 
did  not  get  the  job  done  sooner  They  wanted  to  return  to  Chicago,  but  would  not  lend  a  hand.  It  was 
not  until  1851  that  he  located  permanently  in  Harlem,  where  he  had  been  preceded  by  a  Frenchman 
named  Bourassa,  an  Indian  trader,  of  whom  he  bought  fifty-five  acres  of  land,  situated  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  river,  and  about  a  mile  and  one-half  south  of  the  oak  grove.  He  subsequently  added  other  acres 
until  he  had  200,  and  started  stock  farming,  at  which  he  was  successful.  Most  of  the  land  was  covered 
with  water,  and  in  winter  time  he  used  to  skate  all  the  way  from  his  home  to  Chicago.  In  summer  the 
prairie  was  covered  with  a  growth  of  wild  sunflowers,  so  high  that  a  horseman  riding  through  them  could 
only  be  distinguished  by  his  head  bobbing  up  and  down  as  he  rode  along.  Butchers  would  come  out 
from  the  city  and  buy  his  steers,  not  only  on  the  hoof,  but  hunt  them  up  for  themselves  in  the  prairie 
wilderness,  without  mark  or  brand.  These  men  he  trusted,  and  accepted  their  accounting  as  to  number 

18 


STERRITT  SCHOOL 


and  weight  implicitly.  Reptiles  were  very  numerous,  and  killing  rattlesnakes  was  a  daily  occupation. 
The  ground  was  so  soft  that  only  oxen  could  be  used  to  any  purpose  in  farming.  Mr.  Haase  found  on  his 
first  purchase  an  Indian  burying  ground,  consisting  of  large  mounds,  in  which  were  deposited  many 
relics,  which  he  has  preserved  in  a  museum  at  Forest  Home  cemetery.  As  this  is  not  designed  as  a  life 
of  Mr.  Haase,  his  many  enterprises  and  efforts  after  he  took  up  his  residence  here  are  not  referred  to. 

Mr.  Abram  Gale  was  a  pioneer  of  Chicago  and  Oak  Park.  He  came  to  Chicago  in  May,  1835,  with  his 
family.  The  first  public  sale  of  lands  took  place  June  15,  1835,  when  every  alternate  section  of  a  strip  ten 
miles  wide,  and  extending  from  Chicago  far  into  the  country,  was  sold.  He  attended  the  sale  and 
purchased  320  acres  in  the  south  part  of  Jefferson,  about  three  miles  from  the  oak  grove,  which  he  subse- 
quently platted  for  a  town,  and  called  it  Galewood.  Here  he  erected  a  house,  but  never  resided  there  with 
his  family,  living  and  doing  business  in  Chicago.  Galewood,  although  a  most  advantageous  spot,  did 
not  flourish,  and  in  1863  Mr.  Gale  moved  with  his  family  to  Oak  Park.  Mr.  Abram  Gale  died  in  Oak 
Park  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-four  years,  in  1888,  and  was  buried  in  Graceland  cemetery.  His  son, 
E.  O.  Gale  (with  whom  Abram  Gale  resided)  came  here  in  1863  with  his  family,  and  has  been  a  prominent 

citizen  ever  since. 

*  *  * 

Ashbel  Steele  came  to  Chicago  in  1833,  when  there  were  very  few  houses  to  be  seen  there.  He  moved 
to  River  Forest,  and  settled  as  a  farmer  on  Section  12  of  Proviso,  in  1836,  and  was  the  westerly  neighbor 
of  Kettlestrings  and  Whaples.  He,  in  connection  with  Judge  Theophilius  W.  Smith,  was  owner  of  the  saw 
mill  after  Bickerdike  &  Noble.  He  was  sheriff  of  Cook  county  in  1842-43,  and  subsequently  kept  a  hotel 
at  River  Forest,  about  the  spot  where  Judge  Humphreville's  residence  is  now  on  Lake  street,  north  of  the 
railroad  depot.  This  house,  which  was  called  the  Montezuma  hotel,  was  quite  a  resort  for  city  gentlemen, 
but  it  did  not  prove  a  very  profitable  investment.  Mr.  Steele  was  a  most  excellent  gentleman  and  good 
neighbor.  He  died  in  1861,  leaving  a  widow  and  several  sons  and  daughters,  who  are  well  known  and 
respected.  Two  of  his  daughters  died  last  winter  of  pneumonia,  at  the  old  farm  house  in  River  Forest, 
greatly  regretted.  Mr.  Steele  was  for  a  while  the  Noyesville  postmaster. 

20 


James  Worswick,  a  native  of  England,  now  living  and  aged  eighty-two  years,  settled  in  Harlem  as  a 
farmer  in  1850.  His  son,  Thomas  J.  Worswick,  now  residing  in  Oak  Park,  was  then  nine  years  of  age. 
He  was  married  to  Jane  Elizabeth,  third  daughter  of  Joseph  Kettlestrings,  December  26,  1864.  Another 
son  is  W.  H.  Worswick,  who  resides  at  418  Harlem  avenue,  Oak  Park.  A  son  named  Sandham,  with  whom 
the  elder  Worswick  now  lives,  resides  in  Chicago.  Several  grandchildren  reside  in  Oak  Park. 

Here  we  have  to  draw  the  line  on  the  early  pioneers. 

SUBDIVIDING. 

When  Mr.  Kettlestrings  returned  from  Chicago  to  Oak  Ridge  in  1855  he  commenced  dividing  up  his 
property  and  selling  it,  like  his  new  neighbor,  Quick.  As  far  back  as  1848,  when  the  railroad  was  started, 
he  sold  to  R.  K.  Swift  thirty  acres.  This  Swift  sold  in  1853  to  S.  P.  Skinner  for  $3,000,  or  $100  per  acre. 
In  May,  1856,  Skinner  sold  lots  Nos.  1,  2,  3  and  4  to  Hugh  G.  Clark.  December,  1856,  Skinner  sold  nine 
lots,  Nos.  12  to  20, to  W.  W.  Bemis  and  M.  C.  Niles.  In  September,  1857,  lots  10  and  11  were  sold  by  him  to 
the  same  parties.  In  March,  1860,  Bemis  quit-claimed  to  Niles  his  entire  interest  in  the  property;  and  in 
April,  1863,  Mr.  Niles  sold  to  Deloss  Sweet  lots  Nos.  10  to  16  inclusive,  and  the  west  thirteen  feet  of  No.  17. 

Mr.  Kettlestrings'  subdivision  was  made  September  25,  1856,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  7.  An  addition  to  the  plat  was  made  in  favor  of  R.  Whaples  in  1856;  the  balance 
of  the  quarter  section  was  divided  afterward. 

In  1866  James  W.  Scoville  and  M.  C.  Niles  made  a  subdivision  south  of  the  railroad,  and  in  1868  James 
W.  Scoville  subdivided  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  7.  In  1883  the  entire  area  of  Oak  Park  was 
480  acres.  It  is  now  (1898)  2,880  acres.  It  extends  from  Division  street  to  Twelfth  street,  three  miles 
north  and  south,  and  from  Austin  avenue  to  Harlem  avenue  (or  Seventy-second  street)  east  and  west,  one 
and  one  half  miles.  That  important  section  of  Oak  Park  known  as  Ridgeland  was  subdivided  and  sold 
by  the  late  James  W.  Scoville.  The  only  one  of  the  subdividers  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  now  alive  and 
with  us,  is  Mr.  M.  C.  Niles,  who  seems  good  for  many  years  yet.  But  there  is  a  new  generation  of  subdi- 
viders that  have  taken  their  places. 


INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  OAK  PARK  CLUB  HOUSE. 


MUNICIPAL  ORGANIZATION. 

Oak  Park  is  situated  in  the  town  of  Cicero  and  county  of  Cook.  It  is  of  itself  neither  a  town  nor  a 
village — simply  a  part  of  the  township  of  Cicero,  which  is  at  once  both  a  village  and  a  town — a-municipal 
organization  with  a  special  charter. 

The  name  of  Oak  Park  dates  only  from  1871.  It  was  originally  known  as  "  Kettlestrings'  Grove"; 
then  as  "Oak  Ridge,"  and  finally,  in  1871,  as  Oak  Park;  when  the  postoffice,  which  had  been  Noyesville, 
and  the  railroad  station,  which  had  been  Harlem,  were  changed  to  conform  to  the  new  name. 

Oak  Park  has  no  local  governing  body  of  its  own,  but  as  a  matter  of  political  arrangement  in  dealing  with 
the  other  portions  of  the  town,  is  entitled  to  three  seats  on  the  town  board,  which  consists  of  seven  members. 
The  village  of  Austin  is  usually  accorded  three  representatives,  and  the  south  side  villages  one  elective 
representative  between  them.  The  village  of  Austin  is  the  town  seat.  Cicero  was  originally  six  miles 
square,  and  extended  from  Western  avenue  on  the  east  to  Harlem  avenue,  now  Seventy-second  street,  on 
the  west.  It  is  still  six  miles  from  north  to  south.  Its  greatest  width  is  three  and  a  half  miles,  and  this 
at  its  southern  extremity;  it  is  narrowest  at  its  northern  extremity,  where  it  is  only  two  and  a  quarter  miles. 
Its  northern  boundary  is  North  avenue,  and  its  southern  boundary  Thirty-ninth  street.  It  is  bounded  on 
the  east  and  on  the  north  by  the  Chicago  city  limits,  and  on  the  south  by  the  township  of  Lyons.  On  the 
west  it  is  bounded  by  the  townships  of  Proviso  and  Riverside. 

There  was  no  political  organization  whatever  until  1857.  The  name,  Cicero,  was  the  suggestion  of 
Mr.  Augustin  Porter,  who  brought  it  with  him  from  that  land  of  classic  names,  York  state.  The  name  of 
Proviso  is  also  attributed  to  him,  but  is  said  to  have  been  the  suggestion  of  "Long  John"  Wentworth. 
On  June  23,  1857,  an  election  was  held  in  Cicero(on  Lake  street  near  Garfield  Park,  now  the  heart  of  Chicago), 
for  the  purpose  of  organization.  The  town  of  Cicero  was  then  six  miles  square.  The  number  of  votes 
cast  at  that  election  was  only  fourteen.  They  were  those  of  George  Scoville  (Oak  Park),  H.  H.  Palmer, 
James  W.  Scoville  (Oak  Park),  Reuben  Whaples  (Oak  Park),  John  Beaver  (Oak  .Park),  William  H.  Scoville 
(Oak  Park),  Joel  G.  Phillips,  B.  F.  Livingstone  (Oak  Park),  Joseph  Kettlestrings  (Oak  Park),  Peter  Craw- 
ford, H.  P.  Flower  (Oak  Park),  Ives  Scoville  (Oak  Park),  H.  G.  Kurd  (Oak  Park),  and  Gilbert  Crawford. 

24 


Oak  Park  seems  to  have  had  sufficient  votes  to  control  the  election,  few  as  they  were.  William  A.  Scoville 
was  chosen  supervisor;  James  H.  Scoville,  assessor;  Reuben  Whaples,  clerk;  George  Scoville  and  Joseph 
Kettlestring-s,  commissioners  of  highways;  George  Scoville,  justice  of  the  peace;  Joseph  Kettlestrings, 
overseer  of  the  poor. 

In  the  various  town  boards  up  to  1867  Oak  Park  was  always  well  represented,  and  matters  generally 
went  in  a  Scoville  kind  of  way.  Milton  C.  Niles  was  supervisor  from  i860  to  1864,  H.  W.  Austin  in  1865  and 
George  E.  Timme  in  1866.  That  the  supervisorship  belonged  to  Oak  Park  was  then  pretty  clear,  and  that 
was  the  big  office  in  those  days.  J.  W.  Scoville  was  assessor  in  1858,  and  Patrick  Shehan  in  1859.  Joseph 
Kettlestrings  and  George  Scoville  were  commissioners  of  highways  in  1858,  James  W.  Scoville  was  a  com- 
missioner in  1861,  and  again  in  1864,  and  Joseph  Kettlestrings  in  1866. 

By  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  1867,  Cicero  was  created  a  special  corporation,  with  the  corporate  pow- 
ers in  a  board  of  five  trustees,  of  which  the  supervisor,  collector  and  assessor  then  in  office,  were  three. 
George  E.  Timme,  of  Oak  Park,  was  the  supervisor,  and  continued  so  till  November,  1868.  By  this  time 
the  east  end  began  to  gain  the  advantage.  John  McCaffery,  of  Brighton  (now  deceased),  was  elected  a 
commissioner  of  highways  in  1865.  On  the  new  board,  under  the  new  charter,  in  1867,  he,  with  John  Craw- 
ford, was  elected  a  trustee  to  complete  the  board.  Only  one  Oak  Park  man  was  to  be  found  on  the  board 
after  this  for  some  time. 

In  March,  1869,  another  new  charter  for  the  town  was  provided  by  the  legislature.  The  trustees 
were  increased  from  five  to  seven.  It  was  in  1870  the  town  hall  was  built  in  Austin.  The  same  legislature 
took  the  two  eastern  miles  of  Cicero's  territory  and  added  them  to  Chicago,  excepting  the  wedge  south  of 
the  canal,  known  as  Brighton.  These,  it  was  said,  were  desired  for  the  new  parks  for  the  city.  H.  W. 
Austin  was  appointed  trustee  to  take  the  place  of  Geo.  E.  Timme  on  July  3,  1869. 

Under  the  new  charter  John  McCaffery  figured  as  supervisor  in  1869  and  1870;  C.  E.  Crafts,  of  Austin, 
in  1873  and  1874;  M.  C.  Niles,  of  Oak  Park,  in  1875;  W.  H.  Wood,  of  Oak  Park,  in  1876;  James  J.  McCarthy, 
of  Austin,  in  1877  and  1878;  John  Lewis,  of  Oak  Park,  was  supervisor  in  1879  and  1880;  and  McCarthy,  of 
Austin,  again  in  1881,  1882  and  1883.  A.  O.  Butler,  of  Oak  Park,  was  elected  assessor  in  1873,  and  not 
qualifying,  O.  W.  Herrick  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  Joseph  Donnersberger,  of  Brighton,  was  assessor 


DIAGRAM  OF  SCOVILLE  INSTITUTE. 


in  1874  and  1875;  and  Taylor  A.  Snow  in  1876.  George  Butters  (of  Ridgeland)  served  as  assessor  from 
1878  to  1883,  inclusive.  A.  O.  Butler  served  as  collector  in  1871;  and  O.  W.  Herrick  in  1874;  H.  C. 
Hansen  in  1877;  Simpson  Dunlop  in  1881;  and  Alonzo  W.  Pebbles  in  1883-4. 

The  Oak  Parkers  who  served  as  trustees  under  the  charter  of  1869  from  then  to  1884,  were  as  follows, 
there  being'  during  that  period  four  trustees,  with  the  three  village  officers:  1869-70,  H.  W.  Austin, 
Morris  Gaugler;  1870-71,  Morris  Gaugler;  1871  to  April,  1873,  Morris  Gaugler;  1873-74,  A.  O.  Butler 
(appointed  November  10,  1873),  George  Eckert;  1874-75,  A.  O.  Butler,  George  Eckert;  J.  W.  Scoville  (rice 
Eckert,  resigned  December  14, 1874);  1875-76,  J.  W.  Scoville;  1876-77,  J.  W.  Scoville;  1877-78,  no  Oak  Park 
man  was  chosen;  1878-79,  H.  C.  Hansen  was  elected  and  continued  to  be  the  trustee  from  Oak  Park  until 
1883;  for  1883-84  E.  S.  Conway  was  the  trustee  elected  from  Oak  Park,  and  continued  to  be  so  (acting  as 
president)  until  his  resignation,  July  16,  1887. 

The  president  of  the  board  was  elected  from  among  and  by  the  members,  and  there  was  no  salary 
attached  to  the  office  until  1889.  That  office  was  first  made  elective  without  any  salary  being  provided. 
A  subsequent  legislature  made  the  president  president  of  the  town,  instead  of  president  of  the  board, 
with  such  salary  as  the  board  thought  proper  to  allow. 

BUSINESS  BEGINNINGS. 

In  this  article  the  writer  does  not  expect  to  include  every  one  who  did  business  here  in  the  early 
days  of  the  town,  but  will  be  as  full  as  circumstances  will  permit. 

In  1853  the  only  place  of  business  known  to  exist  was  Skinner's  Oak  Ridge  hotel.  It  was  on  Lake 
street,  east  of  Harlem  avenue,  where  the  first  temporary  tavern  was  started  in  1835.  In  the  early  days 
a  tavern  was  of  prime  necessity-  It  was  the  first  beginning  of  everything.  There  were  no  railroads,  no 
good  wagon  roads,  and  few  houses,  and  teamsters,  farmers  and  travelers  needed  shelter  and  food  and 
"something  to  drink."  A  railroad  roundhouse  was  erected  two  blocks  west  of  the  town  line,  in  the  rail- 
road yard,  which  was  maintained  until  1865,  one  year  after  the  Chicago  &  Galena  Union  railroad  was 
purchased  by  the  Chicago  &  North-Western  line,  which  had  also  absorbed  the  Air  Line.  It  was  afterward 


LATE  PRAIRIE  CLUB  HOUSK.  NOW  KKXILWORTH  HALL. 


changed  into  a  railroad  paint  shop  of  the  North-Western  Company,  and  maintained  there  until  1873,  when 
it  was  removed  to  the  yards  of  the  new  shops  at  Fortieth  street. 

In  1856  the  embryo  town  could  not  muster  more  than  half  a  dozen  houses,  all  situated  on  Lake  street. 
One  authority  says:  "Among-  them  were  Mr.  Morey's,  Mr.  Whaples',  the  old  tavern,  a  store  and  the  old 
school  house,  now  Temperance  hall";  and  the  latter  was  erected  only  the  year  before,  the  first  teacher 
being  Mr.  A.  D.  Thomas.  George  Scoville,  our  first  attorney,  built  a  barn  in  1855  and  lived  in  it  until  he 
had  his  house  ready  the  following  year.  The  store  referred  to,  we  suppose,  was  that  started  by  a  Mr. 
Barber,  who  did  business  here  until  he  sold  out  to  Mrs.  Steiner.  John  Beaver  built  the  stores  at  201-203 
Lake  street,  now  belonging  to  Albert  Schneider.  "Moley's"  tenement  house  was  built  by  a  Mr.  John 
Leison,  who  died  there  many  years  ago,  it  is  said  by  suicide.  The  addition  to  Mr.  Steiner's  store,  made 
in  later  years,  was  built  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Hillmer,  who  was  our  first  builder.  A  shoe  store  was  started  by 
Christian  Senf  in  1863,  in  what  is  now  107  Lake  street.  A  shoe  shop  was  also  carried  on  by  Mr.  Moley 
between  the  years  1855  and  1860,  and  his  house  (just  now  removed  to  make  way  for  a  modern  building)  is 
one  of  the  very  oldest  in  the  town.  The  first  blacksmith  is  not  remembered,  but  Carl  Haberland,  who  died 
a  few  years  ago,  had  a  shop  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  street,  near  the  tavern,  before  1870.  "Old  Man 
Litke  "  had  a  grocery  store  at  an  early  date  in  what  is  known  as  Kuhn's  block,  204  Lake  street.  Litke 
was  bought  out  by  a  man  named  Bloom,  who  started  a  saloon  in  1857.  Ludwig  Maanse  bought  out  Bloom, 
greatly  enlarged  and  improved  the  premises,  and  started  the  "  Farmer's  Home  "  hotel  in  1864.  In  1865 
Maanse  was  accidentally  killed  while  hunting.  A  year  later,  Mr.  John  Kuhn  married  the  Widow  Maanse, 
and  conducted  the  hotel  until  the  close  of  its  career  in  1872,  on  account  of  the  new  temperance  act  intro- 
duced in  the  legislature,  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Austin  (then  a  resident  here),  which  became  a  law.  A  man,  named 
Tollman,  carried  on  the  Oak  Ridge  hotel  until  it  was  burned  down  in  1867.  Albert  Schneider  reached 
here  in  1859  and  engaged  in  shoemaking  with  Mohle.  He  opened  a  shop  of  his  own  at  202  Lake  street  in 
1860,  and  is  now  a  man  of  considerable  property.  O.  W.  Herrick  made  his  advent  in  December,  1859,  and 
engaged  in  teaching  the  public  school.  E.  W.  Hoard  came  in  1864.  In  October,  1863,  Christian  Schlund 
opened  a  meat  market  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street,  and  in  1865  was  joined  by  his  brother  Joseph,  who 
had  also  entered  the  meat  field.  They  had  both  been  previously  in  business  at  the  other  side  of  the  town 


BIRD'S-EYE  VIEW  OF  GERMAN  OLD  PEOPLE'S  HOME Madison  Street,  One  Mile  Southwest  In.m  Oak  Park. 


line.  The  first  drug-  store  and  doctor's  office  was  opened  after  the  war,  in  1866,  by  Dr.  Orin  Peak,  in  a 
house  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  M.  E.  church.  That  house  he  sold  to  Mr.  Austin  and  built  another 
to  where  Armbrust's  greenhouse  is  now,  and  the  doctor  did  business  there  until  he  built  the  larg-e  brick 
store  at  206  Lake  street  in  1871.  The  house  that  he  built  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street  was  removed, 
and  is  now  Philip  Schneider's  boot  and  shoe  store  at  118  Lake  street.  Henry  Soffel,  now  of  Maywood,  did 
business  at  101  Lake  street  from  1869  to  1876,  and  became  the  owner  of  the  property.  In  1866  John  H. 
Furbeck,  who  had  carried  on  a  grocery  business  both  in  the  old  and  new  town,  built  a  house  at  209  Lake 
street,  which  was  subsequently  changed  to  a  store,  and  in  1870  was  sold  to  Mr.  O.  W.  Herrick.  In  1865 
Michael  Carter  commenced  market  gardening-  and  farming-  at  the  corner  of  Chicago  avenue  and  North 
East  avenue.  In  1869  A.  W.  Pebbles,  who  had  previously  been  employed  in  the  railroad  paint  shop,  opened 
a  shop  of  his  own  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street,  and  had  William  Patterson  as  a  partner  for  two  years, 
afterward  changing,  when  his  lately  deceased  brother,  S.  E.  Pebbles,  was  substituted.  Mr.  Pebbles  is 
the  only  man  continuously  in  business  here  since  1869.  He  occupied  his  present  store  at  144  Lake  street 
in  1883.  Nathan  T.  Holley  (deceased)  came  in  1870,  and  transacted  business  in  real  estate.  It  is  said  he 
cleared  $22,000  on  his  first  speculation.  Carl  Schroeder  came  first  in  1856,  working  at  various  occupa- 
tions, but  did  not  engage  in  the  coal  business  till  1872.  A  man  named  James  Broddle  started  a  wood  and 
coal  business  in  1868  and  continued  for  several  years,  until  he  went  to  Kansas.  Frank  Ellis  came  in  1871. 

THE  BOOM  YEAR— HOME  MAKERS. 

The  year  1871  was  the  boom  year  for  Oak  Park,  and  matters  assumed  a  settled  shape.  Up  to  that 
year  the  village  was  called  Oak  Ridge,  but  the  school  house  alone  answered  to  that  name.  The  postoffice 
was  removed  and  the  name  changed  from  Noyesville  to  Oak  Park.  The  name  of  the  railroad  station  was 
changed  from  Harlem  to  Oak  Park.  The  only  institution  that  remained  unchanged  in  name  was 
"  Harlem  "  lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  That  year  the  temperance  act  affecting  hotels  and  saloons  was  passed, 
and  the  same  year  occurred  the  great  Chicago  fire.  Everything  requisite  was  named  Oak  Park,  and  every 
obstruction  had  been  removed.  There  were  many  good  men  here  besides  the  business  men  already 

32 


E  f    K  E.W 


ENGINE  HOUSE  AND  WLICK  STATION 213  Marion  Str 


RST    SCHOOL   HOUSE,    CHURCH    AND    MEET- 
ING PLACE  IN  OAK  PARK Lake  Street,  near 

Northwest  corner  of  Forest  Avenue. 


mentioned.  James  W.  Scoville  and  his  cousin  George,  had  been  active  workers  for  the  advancement  of 
the  town  from  its  earliest  date;  so  had  H.  W.  Austin,  who  built  his  house  here  in  1859,  and  although  he 
had  an  adjoining  town  named  after  himself,  he  always  took  a  lively  interest  in  this.  Samuel  Dunlop,  father 
of  Dunlop  Bros.,  bankers,  had  been  living  here  since  1862;  Warren  F.  Furbeck  had  been  here  since  1866; 
E.  O.  Gale  had  been  living  here  since  1863,  and  had  built  a  very  fine  private  residence;  Joseph  Harvey,  a 
prominent  railroad  man,  made  this  his  home  in  1869;  O.  W.  Herrick,  a  gentleman  of  energy,  had  been  here 
since  1859;  Mr.  N.  T.  Holley  came  in  1870;  Fred  J.  Knott  was  here  in  1867;  Henry  Lombard  made  this 
his  place  of  residence  in  1871;  Milton  C.  Niles  had  been  a  prominent  man  in  our  affairs  since  1858,  and  had 
engaged  in  a  number  of  advantageous  enterprises.  Chas.A.  Welch  made  his  home  here  in  1870;  Fred 
C.  Wolcott,  a  prominent  commission  merchant,  had  been  here  since  1879;  A.  O.  Butler,  Maurice  Gaugler, 
John  Carne,  H.C.  Hansen,  Andrew  Vogt,  Geo.  Eckert,  E.  A.  Blackmer,  J.  W.  Middleton,  Chas.  Schroeder, 
John  Kunz,  the  Pebbles  brothers,  Dr.  Grey,  G.  A.  Ingalls,  Wright  Elsom,  N.  Armbrust,  M.  Crandall, 
Welton  Marks,  W.  H.  Wood,  A.  J.  Cheney  and  Simpson  Dunlop  were  all  here  before  1871,  so  that  the  town 
had  a  nucleus  of  excellent  men  and  material  to  make  its  future  not  only  promising  but  assured.  The 
year  1872  witnessed  a  large  influx  of  people  seeking  homes  here  on  account  of  the  great  Chicago  fire  of 
the  previous  year,  and  the  desire  that  had  sprung  up  for  suburban  residences. 

On  the  28th  day  of  April,  1871,  Mr.  O.  W.  Herrick  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster,  and  the  office 
was  located  at  Mr.  Herrick's  place  of  business,  which  is  now  209  Lake  street.  He  served  until  the  sum- 
mer of  1873,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  John  Merton,  who  continued  to  act  as  postmaster  until  July,  1875, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  E.  W.  Phelps,who  had  also  engaged  in  mercantile  business. 

RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  first  stated  preaching  at  Oak  Ridge  was  in  1856,  by  James  Viall,  a  methodist  local  preacher,  and 
was  in  the  school  house,  which  was  built  the  year  before.  About  the  same  time  George  Scoville  started  a 
Sunday  school.  In  1860  the  Union  Ecclesiastical  Society  was  organized,  with  which  church  members 
of  several  denominations  affiliated.  Its  meeting  place  was  the  old  frame  school  house.  Among  the 

34 


original  "members  were  George  Scoville  and  wife,  James  W.  Scoville  and  wife,  O.  W.  Herrick  and  wife, 
H.  W.  Austin  and  wife,  M.  C.  Niles,  E.  O.  Gale,  Samuel  Dunlop,  J.  W.  Kettlestrings  and  Mary  C.  Scoville. 
In  1863  this  society  was  organized  into  a  Union  church.  It  was  unsectarian  in  character,  but  its  creed  was 
strictly  evangelical  and  its  polity  was  Congregational.  There  were  only  thirteen  members  at  the  start, 
and  the  name  of  "Oak  Ridge  Church  of  Harlem"  was  given  to  it.  The  Oak  Ridge  Ecclesiastical  Society 
co-operated  with  this  organization.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Dickinson,  in  1865,  became  the  pastor,  and  continued  as 
such  for  four  years.  The  membership  increased  five-fold  during  his  ministry.  In  May,  1870,  Rev.  Mr. 
Huntington  was  called  to  the  pulpit  at  a  salary  of  $2,000  per  annum.  In  March,  1871,  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  First  Congregational  church  of  Oak  Park,  when  it  became  distinctly  denominational.  Mr. 
Huntington  was  followed  in  the  pastorate  by  Rev.  Edward  D.  Eaton,  who  labored  with  the  church  till 
1886.  He  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  N.  Hoyt,  D.D.,  who,  after  serving  several  years,  accepted  a 
call  to  Sacramento,  Cal.  Rev.  Palmer  S.  Hulbert  was  the  next  pastor,  preaching  his  first  sermon  January 
6,  1895.  He  was  a  powerful  preacher,  but  created  some  antagonism  by  the  force  of  his  utterances.  He 
died  July  23,  1897,  after  tendering  his  resignation.  The  pulpit  continues  vacant  at  this  writing,  July  12, 
1898.  The  church  is  the  strongest  in  Oak  Park,  there  being  728  members  enrolled.  It  has  a  large  Sunday 
school.  The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  has  about  100  members.  In  1893  a  mission  was  organized  on 
Forest  avenue,  which  soon  became  a  regularly  organized  church.  It  had  a  mission  in  Harlem  for  many 
years,  but  that  is  now  conducted  by  the  Methodist  church  of  Oak  Park. 

*  *  * 

A  Presbyterian  church,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Yates  Hickey,  was  organized  with  seven  members 
in  the  fall  of  1861,  and  continued  until  May,  1862,  when  the  congregation  joined  the  Union  church,  and 
there  was  no  separate  Presbyterian  church  organization  again  until  1883.  The  First  Presbyterian  Society 
of  Oak  Park  was  organized  in  1883,  at  the  house  of  W.  C.  Gray,  editor  of  the  Interior,  with  thirty-one 
members.  Among  those  were  R.  S.  Critchell,  H.  M.  Robinson,  Thos.  H.  Doane,  W.  C.  Gray,  J.  W.  John- 
ston and  Dr.  Orin  Peak.  The  first  service  was  held  in  Hoard's  hall,  conducted  by  Rev.  E.  R.  Davis,  of 
Chicago,  in  September  of  that  year.  The  congregation  was  ministered  unto  by  Rev.  Drs.  D.  C.  Marquis 
and  Herrick  Johnson,  until  Dr.  John  Robinson  became  stated  supply;  but  there  was  no  settled  pastor  until 

36 


HIGH  SCHom-  nriLIH.Ni; Corner  of  Lake  Street  and  East  A 


the  arrival  of  Rev.  Arthur  J.  B.  Brown  from  Ripon,  Wis.,  in  1884.  He  was  succeeded  in  1888  by  the 
present  pastor,  Rev.  C.  S.  Hoyt,  from  Westminster  church,  Chicago.  In  the  ten  and  a  half  years  of  Mr. 
Hoyt's  administration  the  church  has  increased  in  usefulness  and  power,  and  the  present  church  edifice, 
which  was  erected  in  1886  on  a  leased  lot,  has  become  too  small,  and  it  is  proposed  to  soon  build  a  new  one. 
The  church  membership  in  1898  numbers  about  300.  Among  the  active  members  of  the  church  are 
C.  B.  Albro,  W.  G.  Halket,  James  McGregor,  N.  G.  Moore,  A.  H.  Newman,  C.  R.  Blanchard,  W.  J.  Cooke, 
H.  H.  Morgan,  John  Pullen,  Orin  Peak,  W.  T.  Templeton.  There  is  a  nourishing  Sunday  school,  a 
Christian  Endeavor  Society,  a  Junior  Society,  and  a  strong  and  active  Woman's  Society. 

There  was  no  separate  Methodist  church  until  1870,  although  Methodism  was  the  first  denominational 
doctrine  preached  in  Oak  Park,  the  first  settlers  being  Methodists;  but  until  then  they  held  membership 
in  the  Union  church.  For  three  years — from  1870  to  1873 — members  of  this  religious  body  residing  in 
Oak  Park,  Austin  and  River  Forest  united  in  one  congregation,  with  Rev.  S.  N.  Griffith  as  pastor.  The 
charter  members  were:  A.  J.  Bell,  Elizabeth  Bell,  German  Lasher,  Matilda  A.  Lasher,  Hannah  French, 
Philander  Smith,  Adeline  M.  Smith,  Warren  Wilkie,  Hannah  Dunlop,  W.  E.  Coman,  Mrs.  S.  D.  L.  Coman, 
William  E.  Blackstone,  Sarah  L.  Blackstone,  Mary  A.  Marks,  Mary  V.  Hale,  John  Powell,  Joseph  Kettle- 
strings,  Betty  Kettlestrings  and  others. 

In  May,  1869,  Philander  Smith  came  to  Oak  Park  and  built  a  residence.  With  his  presence  here 
Methodism  had  a  revival.  In  November,  1872,  he  donated  a  lot  to  the  church,  and  $5,000  was  subscribed 
toward  a  church  edifice.  Mr.  Smith,  besides  deeding  the  lot,  afterward  gave  $5,000  toward  the  building 
fund,  and  Joseph  Kettlestrings  gave  $6,000.  In  the  twenty-seven  years  of  its  existence  the  church  has 
been  served  by  fourteen  pastors,  as  follows:  P.  J.  Marsh,  T.  R.  Strobridge,  W.  D.  Atchison,  A.  J.  Scott,  F. 
P.  Cleveland,  R.  S.  Cantine,  S.  H.  Adams,  R.  H.  Pooley,  C.  E.  Mandeville,  S.  M.  Davis,  R.  W.  Bland,  H.  D. 
Kimball,  R.  H.  Pooley.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  Dr.  Burns,  assumed  the  pastorate  in  the  month  of 
October  of  last  year,  and  he  has  come  with  a  splendid  record.  The  present  church  edifice  was  a  long  time 
building,  and  was  not  finished  till  1888.  One  of  the  most  valuable  contributions  made  to  it  was  a  pipe 
organ,  the  gift  of  Mrs.  Adeline  M.  Smith,  in  1890,  and  valued  at  $3,000.  The  church  is  very  prosperous 


".££  &«?7 

ISw^ 

wiS  *oRlJ 


•ftlF 

I 


CENTRAL  SCHOOL  IHIILIHNr,  AND  CROUNDS r,,mndeil  by  Lake  Street,  Park  Place  and  North  Houlevard. 


and  has  about  500  members.  It  has  organized  and  supported  the  Onward  mission,  corner  of  Franklin  and 
Marengo  streets,  Harlem,  of  which  Ernst  A.  Heilman  is  the  pastor.  The  Epworthand  Junior  Leagues  are 
strong  and  doing  good  work.  The  Sunday  school  is  large,  with  a  corps  of  able  teachers.  The  church  has 
three  local  preachers  and  two  class  leaders.  Other  societies  are  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society,  Sunday  School  Missionary  Society,  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  and  Willing 
Workers'  Band.  There  are  nine  trustees  and  thirteen  stewards. 

*  *  # 

The  German  Evangelical  Association  was  organized  in  1864,  with  a  membership  of  eight  families,  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Wingert,  who  was  its  first  pastor.  It,  too,  worshiped  in  the  old  school  house  until  1867,  when  a 
small  frame  church  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,000,  which  has  been  since  superseded  by  a  much  more 
costly  and  commodious  edifice,  built  in  1896.  The  original  membership  consisted  of  Benjamin  Ebert, 
Leonard  Neff,  John  Esch,  Charles  Schroeder,  Christian  Cordt,  C.  Schmidt,  Frederick  Troester  and  a  Mr. 
Radt.  There  have  been  a  number  of  pastors.  The  church  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition  under  the 
charge  of  Rev.  M.  Hoehn.  It  is  situated  at  138  Ontario  street  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of  300. 

*  *  * 

Those  who  believed  in  the  more  liberal  doctrines  of  Universalism  and  Unitarianism  came  together  on 
the  first  day  of  February,  1871,  and  effected  an  independent  church  organization.  Among  them  were  E. 
W.  Hoard,  Enoch  Marks,  Geo.  E.  Gerts,  M.  C.  Niles,  E.  H.  Graves,  E.  O.  Gale,  Abram  Gale,  W.  H. 
Emery,  Joel  Gurley,  William  B.  Akers,  A.  H.  Heald,  M.  B.  Mills,  Chas.  A.  Welch  and  Henry  Lumbard. 
A.  H.  Sweeter  was  then  the  pastor,  and  under  his  supervision  the  church  on  Wisconsin  avenue  was  built. 
Prior  to  that  services  were  held  in  the  old  school  house.  R.  F.  Johannot,  the  present  able  and  eloquent 
pastor,  was  installed  in  May,  1892.  The  church  is  out  of  debt  and  thoroughly  organized.  It  has  a  Sunday 
school,  a  Ladies'  Social  Union,  a  Young  People's  Christian  Union,  King's  Daughters,  Juvenile  Daughters, 
King's  Sons  and  Saturday  Night  Club. 

The  only  Baptist  in  Oak  Park  or  immediate  vicinity  for  years,  was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Porter  Furbeck. 
Her  father,  Judge  Porter,  was  not  a  Baptist,  but  he  mortgaged  his  property  to  help  build  the  First  Baptist 

40 


SOUTH  SCHOOLS Washington  IJouh-vard,  betv 


church  in  Austin,  before  any  attempt  was  made  to  organize  a  church  in  Oak  Park,  and  Mrs.  Furbeck 
therefore  belonged  to  the  Austin  church  at  the  time  the  church  was  organized  in  Oak  Park.  Before  the 
Austin  church  was  started  she  attended  devine  service  in  Chicago.  Mrs.  Furbeck,  however,  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Oak  Park  church  since  it  was  organized.  On  the  9th  day  of  May,  1873,  the  following  per- 
sons gathered  at  the  home  of  J.  W.  Middleton,  Maple  avenue,  and  organized  the  First  Baptist  church  of 
Oak  Park:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  J.  Andrews,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  E.  Bartlett,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  W.  Middleton,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  F.  T.  June,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abram  Shaffer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Robert  Furbeck,  Mrs.  Capt.  Ira  Owen 
and  F.  J.  Ellis.  For  a  time  they  rented  the  Central  school,  but  the  old  school  building  becoming  vacant, 
they  rented  that  until  the  building  of  their  own  church,  corner  of  Pleasant  street  and  Wisconsin  avenue. 
The  first  minister  was  Henry  C.  Mabie,  D.D.,  from  Rockford.  He  was  installed  August  1,  1873.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  J.  W.  Conley,  who  is  serving  his  second  term.  He  first  came  in  1890,  laboring 
\vith  great  success  for  three  years,  following  Rev.  R.  N.  Van  Doran.  Rev.  F.  H.  Rowley  succeeded  Mr. 
Conley,  October  16,  1892.  Then  there  was  a  vacancy  for  some  months,  when  Mr.  Conley  came  back  from 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  at  the  urgent  solicitation  of  the  congregation,  taking  charge  March  1, 1898.  He  is  a  hard 
worker,  a  brilliant  preacher,  and  is  generally  beloved  for  his  many  amiable  qualities.  There  are  several 
societies  affiliated  with  the  church  and  the  works  of  education  and  philanthropy  progress.  The  church 
has  a  thriving  mission  in  Harlem. 

*  #  * 

Grace  Protestant  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  Oak  Park  in  1879,  its  members  being  mostly 
seceders  from  Christ  church,  Harlem,  but  they  had  the  guidance  of  Bishop  McLaren.  The  membership 
consisted  of  about  sixty  persons.  Hoard's  hall  was  used  as  the  place  of  worship  until  a  church  was  built 
in  1883.  The  officiating  rector  was  Rev.  Dr.  T.  N.  Morrison.  The  committee  that  organized  the  church 
were:  A.  S.  Pack,  George  Sharp,  R.  S.  Worthington,  T.  S.  Rattle.  The  present  rector  is  Rev.  C.  P. 
Anderson,  who  has  filled  that  position  with  great  acceptance  since  July,  1891.  The  Sunday  school  is 
flourishing  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Giles.  Among  the  organizations  within  the  church 
are  the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew,  the  Parochial  Guild  and  the  Woman's  Auxiliary.  All  are  flourishing. 
A  new  church  edifice  is  to  be  built,  so  soon  as  desirable  plans  are  decided  upon. 


flLLlAM  JiKYK  SCHOOL,  RIDGKLAND Corner  Cuylcr  Avenue  and  Cedar  Street. 


The  Second  Congregational  church  was  started  in  1888.  It  is  located  at  the  north-east  corner  of  Lake 
street  and  Fair  Oaks  avenue,  about  half  a  mile  east  of  the  First  church.  It  was  dedicated  in  April,  1889. 
The  cost  of  its  construction  was  over  $15,000.  Its  first  pastor  was  Rev.  W.  A.  Bartlett,  who  commenced 
his  ministrations  in  the  fall  of  1889,  and  continued  the  same  for  about  six  and  one-half  years,  resigning  in 
May,  1896,  and  going  from  here  to  Lowell,  Mass.  The  great  feature  of  Mr.  Bartlett 's  services  was  his 
instruction  in  singing,  and  his  urgency  of  its  use  in  the  church  services.  Mr.  Bartlett  was  succeeded  in 
February,  1897,  by  Rev.  Sidney  Strong,  who  is  now  the  pastor.  The  Sunday  school  is  too  large  for  the 
church,  and  the  increase  is  so  great  that  the  trustees  are  now  planning  for  an  enlargement. 

The  church  in  which  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Oak  Park  worship,  is  situated  in  River  Forest,  half  a 
mile  west  of  the  town  line,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Lake  street  and  Lathrop  avenue.  It  is  the  second 
church  edifice  erected  on  the  same  site.  It  is  used  by  the  Catholics  of  Oak  Park,  River  Forest,  Harlem 
and  Maywood.  The  date  of  the  formation  of  the  congregation  is  1862.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Father 
Burke  from  St.  Columbkille's  church  in  Chicago,  who  served  it  for  several  years;  Father  Anthonasius 
served  it  for  four  years,  "Father  Tom  "or  Morrissini  served  it  for  four  years,  and  it  was  served  for  some 
years  by  the  priest  at  Forty-Second  street  church.  Rev.  Father  Luke  Waldron  was  the  priest  who 
built  the  new  church,  and  after  having  served  it  for  six  years,  was  taken  sick  and  died  of  paralysis.  He 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  Richard  Dunne  in  1893.  Father  Dunne  has  an  assistant  in 
Rev.  Father  Hayes,  who  has  come  lately.  There  is  a  commodious  parsonage  adjoining  the  church  edifice. 

*  *  * 

There  is  a  German  Baptist  church  (organized  in  1885)  whose  edifice  is  situated  corner  of  Harlem 
avenue  and  Dixon  street,  and  of  which  Rev.  J.  Fellman  is  pastor. 

There  is  a  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  Paul's  church,  situated  on  Dixon  street,  Harlem,  of 
which  Rev.  Gustav  Greenland  is  the  pastor.  It  was  organized  in  1880,  and  the  church  was  erected  in  1881. 

St.  John's  German  Lutheran  church  of  Harlem,  is  used  by  the  Lutherans  of  Oak  Park.  Of  this 
church  Rev.  F.  M.  Grosse  is  pastor.  A  view  of  the  handsome  church  edifice  is  presented  herewith. 

44 


k 


MICH   SCHOOL  C.K  A  I>r  ATI  \C   CLASS.  IS'is. 


CHURCH  BUILDING. 

Nearly  all  the  church  societies  at  the  beginning  made  use  of  the  old  school  house;  first  as  a  Union 
church  and  afterward  as  separate  organizations. 

The  first  church  edifice  erected  in  Oak  Park  was  that  of  the  German  Evangelical  Association  in  1867. 
It  was  a  modest  frame  structure,  in  keeping  with  the  times,  and  costing  only  about  $1,000.  In  1896  this 
was  moved  back  and  converted  into  a  parsonage,  while  a  larger  structure,  capable  of  seating  200  to  300 
persons,  was  erected  in  its  stead. 

Christ  Protestant  Episcopal  church,  erected  in  old  Harlem  in  1872,  was  the  next.  It  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, and  partly  in  use.  It  is  a  frame  structure,  with  stone  foundation,  situated  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Lake  and  John  streets,  and  is  the  private  property  of  Mr.  J.  H.  S.  Quick. 

Unity  church  was  the  next.  It  is  Universalist  and  Unitarian  combined.  On  March  6,  1871,  Messrs. 
E.  W.  Hoard,  Enoch  Marks,  George  E.  Gerts,  M.  C.  Niles,  E.  H.  Graves  and  E.  O.  Gale  were  chosen  as  a 
building  committee  for  the  erection  of  the  church.  On  April  17  they  accepted  proposals  for  doing  the 
stone  work,  carpenter  work  and  painting,  at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $7,900.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in 
the  basement  of  the  church  March  25, 1872.  The  total  cost  of  the  new  edifice  was  shown  to  be  $13,860.  It 
is  a  two-story  frame  structure,  with  stone  basement  and  a  steeple.  It  was  all  overhauled,  painted  and 
repaired  in  1897. 

The  Oak  Ridge  Ecclesiastical  Society  (whose  membership  was  mostly  Congregational),  on  July  25, 
1863,  elected  three  trustees,  consisting  of  M.  C.  Niles,  H.  W.  Austin  and  James  W.  Scoville,  with  O.  W. 
Herrick  as  secretary  and  treasurer.  They  purchased  and  fitted  up  as  a  place  of  public  worship  the  first 
school  house,  which  had  been  superseded  by  a  new  brick  school  building.  After  the  change  in  the  organi- 
zation of  the  church  in  1871,  the  old  building  was  sold  and  the  proceeds  devoted  to  the  payment  of  debts. 
The  building  of  a  new  Congregational  church  edifice  was  entered  upon,  and  Mr.  James  W.  Scoville,  always 
foremost  in  such  matters,  contributed  a  lot  on  which  to  build.  Subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  $20,000 

46 


3IIS1 
^tmlm 


HH 

wiHi 
i 


CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH  AND  SCOVILLK  INSTITUTE Lake  Street,  between  Kcni! 


were  soon  taken,  and  the  corner  stone  was  laid  August  28, 1873.  It  was  dedicated  November  1,  1874.  The 
total  expense  of  lot,  building  and  furniture  was  $47,100.  It  is  a  substantial  stone  structure,  two  stories 
high,  with  a  spire  190  feet  high.  The  seating  capacity  was  then  550.  In  the  summer  of  1881  Mr. 
James  W.  Scoville  contributed  a  pipe  organ,  the  value  of  which  was  about  $4,000.  During  1891  the  church 
was  greatly  enlarged  and  improved  at  a  cost  of  $40,000.  The  interior  is  capacious  and  beautiful.  On 
account  of  its  size  it  is  frequently  used  for  secular  assemblages,  the  trustees  being  very  liberal  in  this 

respect. 

*  #  * 

At  a  trustees'  meeting  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  held  January  31, 1873,  it  was  determined  to  build  a  church, 
and  the  brick  veneered  style  was  adopted.  The  ground  was  staked  off  May  5,  and  the  corner  stone 
laid  September  2,  1873.  The  building  committee  consisted  of  Philander  Smith,  F.  A.  Arnold  and  W.  E. 
Blackstone.  Mr.  Blackstone  drafted  the  plans  and  Mr.  Smith  furnished  the  money  to  carry  on  the  work. 
The  basement  was  occupied  for  the  first  time  on  Christmas  eve,  1873,  the  rooms  being  completed  January 
3,  1874.  The  dedication  took  place  the  following  Sunday,  on  which  occasion  $7,850  was  raised.  The  total 
cost  was  about  $24,000.  The  audience  rooffl-wtrsnot  finished  till  1878.  It  was  not  till  1888  that  the  church 
building  came  to  be  anything  like  its  present  size.  It  was  found  to  be  entirely  too  small,  and  was  remod- 
eled and  enlarged  at  an  expense  of  $19,000.  This  amount  was  all  raised  on  dedication  day  and  the  church 
is  out  of  debt.  The  church  property,  including  the  parsonage  on  Forest  avenue,  is  valued  at  $50,000. 
The  building  is  one  of  the  handsomest  ecclesiastical  edifices  in  Cook  county,  and  has  a  beautiful  interior  as 
well  as  a  graceful  exterior. 

Grace  Episcopal  church  was  erected  in  1882,  the  corner  stone  having  been  laid  in  June  of  that  year. 
It  is  situated  at  the  corner  of  Forest  avenue  and  Elizabeth  street,  and  is  of  brick,  one  story  high.  It  is 
now  too  small  for  the  congregation,  which  is  making  preparations  for  the  erection  of  a  grand  new  struc- 
ture on  Lake  street,  opposite  the  Presbyterian  church,  for  which  the  ground  is  purchased  and  the  plans 
in  preparation.  The  cost  of  the  ground  is  $11,137.  The  building  will  cost  about  $50,000. 

48 


The  Presbyterian  church  was  erected  on  a  leased  lot  in  1886.  Knfe  a  broad  wooden  structure  with- 
out a  steeple,  but  with  some  architectural  pretensions.  Its  location  is  the  south  side  of  Lake  street,  be- 
tween the  Methodist  and  Congregational  churches.  It  will  be  soon  either  enlarged  or  replaced. 

Between  five  and  six  years  ago  the  small  Congregational  church  on  Forest  avenue  was  built.  It  was  at 
first  simply  a  mission.  ^  .,.  ^ 

The  Lutherans  worship  in  St.  John's  church,  Harlem,  of  which  Rev.  F.  M.  Grosse  has  been  pastor 
from  its  organization  in  1872. 

The  Catholics  worship  in  St.  Luke's  church,  River  Forest,  of  which  Rev.  Richard  Dunne  is  pastor. 
The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1862,  and  the  second  in  1880. 

The  Second  Congregational  church  (Ridgeland)  was  erected  in  1888.  It  is  a  handsome  edifice,  of 
stone,  with  a  seating  capacity  for  300  persons. 

OAK  PARK  SCHOOLS. 

The  present  school  system,  of  which  the  residents  of  Oak  Park  and  Ridgeland  are  so  proud,  and  for 
which  we  receive  the  highest  praise  through  the  county  and  state,  began  life  in  a  very  humble  manner 
some  forty-three  years  ago.  If  we  trace  the  educational  interests  of  the  earlier  inhabitants  of  the  town 
back  for  more  than  forty  years  we  find  that  the  first  rudiments  of  learning  were  taught  in  the  little  white, 
one-story  building  now  standing  back  on  Lake  street,  adjoining  the  residence  of  Mr.  H.  W.  Austin  on  the 
east,  and  which  has  served  the  people  of  Oak  Park  in  so  many  capacities  and  in  such  good  stead  for  so 
many  years.  Even  this,  in  its  original  condition,  was  more  diminutive  in  its  proportions  than  now.  Of 
this  building  we  present  a  view  in  this  work.  It  was  erected  in  1855.  Prof.  W.  H.  Hatch,  superintendent 
of  education,  has  a  pretty  painting  of  it  adorning  the  walls  of  his  office  in  the  north  wing  of  the  Central 
school.  It  shows  the  vast  contrast  between  the  educational  necessities  of  the  district  away  back  in  the 

50 


INTERIOR   VIK\V  OK   M  KTIIOIIIST    KI'ISl'OP  A  I.  I  HIKl'll. 


fifties  and  the  present  time.  What  happened  in  1856  \ve  do  not  know,  but  in  the  spring'  of  1857  a  district 
school,  with  B.  F.  Living-ston,  Jos.  Kettlestrings  and  J.  W.  Scoville  as  directors,  was  opened.  Miss  Sarah 
Dewey  was  engaged  to  teach  the  pupils,  then  only  twenty-nine  in  number.  In  June  of  the  same  year  Mr. 
John  Fraser  was  engaged  as  principal,  but  was  dismissed  by  the  directors  in  August,  "for  lack  of  govern- 
ment and  incapacity  for  teaching."  At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors,  Mr.  John  M.  Holmes,  a 
graduate  of  Yale  college,  of  the  class  of  '57,  was  engaged  as  principal,  at  a  salary  of  $1,000,  afterward  raised 
to  $1,200,  assuming  his  new  duties  the  first  Monday  in  September.  He  served  in  this  capacity  till  April, 

1858,  leaving  to  enter  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover,  Mass.     In  the  records  of  the  school  he  is 
referred  to  as  "an  excellent  teacher,  a  profound  scholar,  a  warm  hearted  friend,  and  was  universally 
beloved  by  the  community  in  which  he  resided." 

December  9,  1857,  the  directors  met  in  the  school  house,  and  having  previously  engaged  the  services 
of  the  veteran  music  instructor,  the  late  Mr.  Nathan  Dye,  listened  to  his  first  lesson  in  music  to  the  new 
school.  Mr.  Dye  had  been  engaged  to  give  instruction  in  music  for  a  term  of  twelve  weeks,  devoting  one 
day  each  week,  and  receiving  as  compensation  for  his  services  $7  a  day  and  expenses!  At  this  lesson  there 
were  thirty-eight  scholars  present.  The  fall  term  for  the  first  school  year  closed  December  22,  the 
closing  exercises  being  participated  in  by  forty  pupils,  and  witnessed  by  twelve  visitors. 

January  23,  1858,  a  school  meeting  was  held,  at  which  the  directors  were  authorized  to  borrow  such 
sums  of  money  as  they  should  think  proper  for  school  purposes,  not  to  exceed  the  sum  of  S700.  The 
following  April  an  addition  was  built  to  the  school  house,  the  new  department  being  used  as  the  primary 
department.  In  June  a  meeting  was  called  to  consider  the  advisability  of  buying  property  and  building  a 
new  school  house.  No  active  measures  were  taken  until  the  following  March,  when  the  lot  on  which  the 
Central  school  now  stands  was  purchased  of  B.  F.  Livingston  for  $1,100.  The  contract  was  given  out  for 
the  new  school  building,  and  the  work  was  rapidly  pushed,  it  being  ready  for  occupancy  in  September, 

1859.  In  1859  Alexander  Hall  was  the  teacher. 

In  January,  1860,  Mr.  O.  W.  Herrick's  services  were  secured  to  take  charge  of  the  new  school,  and  as 
principal  served  until  April,  1864.  Mr.  Herrick's  able  management  of  the  educational  interests  of  the 
populace  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Chas.  E.  Fay,  who  served  until  June,  1868,  when  Mr.  Warren  Wilkie  was 


RST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  AND   MAXSK ?4.s  Lake  Street. 


hired  by  the  directors  for  the  term  of  one  year  at  a  salary  of  $1,800.  Mr.  Wilkie's  services  being-  appre- 
ciated, he  was  retained  by  the  board  of  directors  from  year  to  year,  and  in  1873  his  salary  was  raised  to 
$2,000.  The  capacity  of  the  school  building  being  inadequate  to  the  growing  demands,  a  vote  was  taken 
and  preparations  begun  to  enlarge.  In  the  summer  of  1874  the  north  end  of  the  Central  school  was  built, 
and  when  school  opened  for  the  fall  term  in  the  enlarged  building,  Mr.  Durkee  presided  over  the  increased 
number  as  principal  and  continued  for  two  years. 

In  1876,  at  the  earnest  demand  of  the  residents,  the  school  board  decided  to  open  a  school  in  the  eastern 
section  of  the  district  known  as  Ridgeland.  For  that  purpose  a  lease  was  executed  with  F.  Dorm  for  the 
room  in  rear  of  his  store,  corner  Lake  street  and  Ridgeland  avenue,  to  be  used  as  the  Ridgeland  primary 
school,  and  Mrs.  J.  E.  Lyon  was  employed  as  teacher. 

During  the  summer  of  1876  the  services  of  Prof.  B.  L.  Dodge  were  secured  as  principal,  to  assume 
his  duties  the  followipg  school  year.  About  this  time,  too,  Mr.  John  Powell  was  engaged  as  janitor,  that 
position  being  held  by  him  ever  since,  some  twenty-two  years,  without  a  complaint  being  heard. 

During  Prof.  Dodge's  seventeen  years  in  charge  many  changes  were  made,  as  the  growing  population 
needed  constantly  enlarged  educational  facilities.  In  1880  another  addition  to  the  Central  school  was  built. 
The  cost  of  this  building  is  set  down  at  $35,000.  In  1879  more  school  room  was  required  to  meet  the 
growing  demands  at  Ridgeland.  A  lot  was  bought  there  and  a  new  brick  school  house  built.  In  1884  in- 
creased room  was  required  in  Oak  Park  proper,  and  an  addition  was  built  on  the  south  end  of  the  Central 
school.  Later  on,  as  the  population  increased  on  the  extreme  north  and  south  sides,  new  schools  were 
built  in  each  of  those  rapidly  growing  districts.  On  the  south  side  there  is  a  three-story  building  and  two 
cottages,  and  on  the  north  side  the  school  consists  of  two  brick  cottages,  which  are  designated  in  the 
diagram  as  the  Chicago  Avenue  schools.  During  Prof.  Dodge's  services  of  seventeen  years  as  principal, 
six  new  school  houses  were  built  within  an  area  of  six  square  miles. 

To  fill  the  vacancy  made  by  Prof.  Dodge's  resignation  in  1892,  the  services  of  Prof.  W.  H.  Hatch  were 
secured,  and  he  has  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  ever  since  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner.  Since  Mr. 
Hatch  entered  on  his  duties  two  new  buildings  have  been  added  to  the  number,  the  last  one  to  be  built 
being  in  South  Ridgeland  (on  Jackson  boulevard),  which  was  opened  Monday,  January  7,  1895.  It  consists 

54 


GRACE  El'lSi'ol'AI.  I'lU'RCH 4u(,  Forest  Avon 


of  four  rooms,  and  cost  $11,500.  The  Beye  school  supplanted  the  Ridgeland  school  in  1896,  and  cost  $26,- 
448.60.  The  south  schools  are  designated  in  the  diagram  as  Washing-ton  Boulevard  schools;  they  are  three 
in  number,  were  built  in  1893,  and  cost  $45,000. 

The  Hig-h  School  is  the  especial  glory  of  Oak  Park,  in  its  architecture,  its  teachers  and  its  attendance. 
It  was  built  in  1890,  and  cost  $60,000.  It  was  planned  throughout  by  the  then  school  superintendent, 
Prof.  B.  L.  Dodge,  now  superintendent  of  the  Oak  Park  water  works.  In  the  year  1888,  Jas.  W.  Scoville 
established  three  prizes,  one  of  $20,  one  of  $10,  and  one  of  $5,  to  be  given  annually  to  the  three  scholars 
who  excelled  in  declamation,  and  A.  C.  Terry,  in  1883,  established  two  prizes  of  $20  and  $10,  respectively, 
to  be  given  annually  to  the  two  scholars  who  excel  in  English  composition.  The  school  has  a  library  of 
reference;  there  is  an  excellent  apparatus  and  a  gymnasium  attached.  The  attendance  during  the  term 
of  1897-98  was  300. 

Oak  Park  has  now,  all  told,  nine  school  buildings,  with  a  total  of  fifty-three  teachers,  as  capable  as  can 
be  found,  and  a  school  attendance  of  nearly  two  thousand.  The  total  value  of  the  school  property  in  lands, 
buildings,  furniture,  maps,  apparatus,  etc.,  is  estimated  at  $302,400.  The  school  census  for  1898  gives  a 
total  population  of  8,740. 

MORE  LOCAL  BUSINESS  PEOPLE. 

William  Steiner  put  up  the  two-story  frame  building  at  the  northeast  corner  of  Lake  street  and 
Harlem  avenue,  and  started  a  general  store  in  1864.  He  had  previously  married  Catherine  Pattock,  who 
had  before  that  been  in  business  on  the  Harlem  side.  The  addition  to  the  store  was  made  in  1872.  The 
adjoining  building,  erected  by  Mr.  Steiner,  and  at  one  time  occupied  by  Mr.  Senne,  was  put  up  in  1882. 
H.  C.  Hansen  bought  out  Mr.  Steiner,  and  carried  on  business  in  partnership  with  Mr.  A.  Westphal  for  a 
while,  but  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Hansen  conducted  the  store  alone  until  he  gave  it  up 
and  went  into  the  real  estate  business.  He  came  here  in  1873. 

Daniel  Flanders  (now  in  Vermont)  started  the  first  Oak  Ridge  and  Chicago  wagon  express  in  1864, 
with  his  barn  in  rear  of  the  premises  now  occupied  by  W.  S.  Johnston  &  Sons'  carriage  shop.  He  had 

56 


UNITY  CHURCH 221  Wisconsin    A\ 


Albert  Townsend  as  a  partner  for  a  while.  Albert  Townsend  was  the  next  man  to  enter  the  express 
business  between  Oak  Park  and  Chicago,  and  he  is  at  it  yet. 

The  first  livery  business  in  the  town  was  done  by  a  man  named  Manville,  with  his  barn  in  rear  of  the 
Farmers'  Home  hotel.  O.  T.  Wall  (afterward  Wall  &  Brown")  started  a  livery  and  express  business  in 
1886  on  rear  of  205  Lake  street,  but  was  for  a  while  on  Harlem  avenue,  where  Johnston's  carriage  and 
blacksmith  shop  is  now.  Henry  Soffel  succeeded  Dr.  Mette  in  a  saloon  at  200  Lake  street,  paying  $400  per 
annum  rent.  He  purchased  the  premises  afterward  from  Tollman,  paying-  him  $3,050  cash  for  fifty  feet 
front  by  212  feet  deep.  Besides  Mette  and  Soffel,  A.  Taylor  and  James  McWilliams  did  business  at  that 
locality  later;  also  Christian  Schlund.  It  is  now  occupied  by  the  fine  three-story  brick  building  erected  by 
C.  F.  Duerr  in  1896.  C.  F.  Will  began  manufacturing  cigars  here  in  1868  in  a  house  on  Chicago  avenue. 
He  removed  to  Ridgeland  in  1874,  and  opened  his  present  shop  at  203  Lake  street  in  1883.  Peter  Miller 
started  his  meat  market  in  1871  at  122  Lake  street,  and  was  joined  by  his  brother,  Chris  F.  Miller,  in  1873. 
The  brothers  later  increased  the  size  of  their  store,  and  in  addition  erected  an  ice  house.  Peter  Miller 
retired  from  the  business  several  years  ago,  but  Chris  F.  still  carries  it  on.  A  brother,  August  Miller, 
started  the  first  barber  shop  at  203  Lake  street  (now  Will's  cigar  store),  which  was  built  for  him  by  John 
Kuhn.  John  Sheer,  a  watchmaker,  occupied  the  same  store  for  a  while,  and  Dr.  Lackie,  for  a  doctor's 
office,  in  the  seventies,  when  he  used  only  to  make  visits  here.  N.  H.  Whittlesy  started  grocery  in  Hoard's 
block,  148  Lake  street,  in  1882,  and  has  continued  in  the  same  place  ever  since.  He  was  preceded  in  that 
store  by  several  others — Furbeck,  Hoard  and  Hoitt. 

Fred.  A.  Arnold  settled  here  in  1872  and  entered  upon  contracting  and  building. 

William  S.  Johnston  came  in  1872  and  entered  upon  carriage  building  and  repairing,  horseshoeing, 
etc.,  at  121  Lake  street,  where  he  was  joined  by  his  brother,  J.  W.  Johnston,  who  carries  on  a  horseshoeing 
business  now  at  the  same  place.  In  1886  W.  S.  Johnston  built  his  present  extensive  premises  on  Harlem 
avenue,  which  he  occupies  in  partnership  with  his  two  sons. 

August  Einfeldt  came  to  Oak  Park  in  1872  and  engaged  in  the  building  trade.  In  1888  he  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business  with  Geo.  L.  Eastman.  He  is  now  dealing  in  builders'  materials  on  Harlem  avenue. 
Edwin  F.  Robbins,  harnessmaker,  came  here  in  September,  1872,  and  opened  a  shop  where  the  Holley 


(1KK.MAN   EVANGELICAL  ASSOCIATION  CHURCH 348  Ontario  ST.  LUKE'S  R.  C.  CHURCH.  RIVER   FOREST Corner  Lake  Street  and 


building'  is  now,  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street.  He  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  for  a  term  in 
the  eig-hties.  He  is  yet  at  the  old  stand.  Dr.R.  M.  Lackey  (deceased)  commenced  practicing-  medicine 
here  in  1872.  H.  W.  Kaltenbach  came  in  1872,  starting  in  the  tinning  and  hardware  business  at  117  Lake 
street.  Gair  Bros,  started  in  the  tinning  and  hardware  business  at  118  Lake  street,  now  Philip  Schnei- 
der's shoe  store,  in  1873.  They  built  their  former  store  at  136  Lake  street  in  1876,  and  their  new  brick 
store  at  215  Lake,  in  1890.  Hugh  Gair  is  now  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  business.  L.  M.  Lovett  started 
his  drug  and  stationery  store  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Lake  and  Marion  streets  in  October,  1883. 

James  Brown  (deceased),  father  of  John  Brown,  harnessmaker,  came  in  1869,  and  carried  on  success- 
fully a  newspaper  and  stationery  business  on  the  north  side  of  Lake  street  between  the  Holley  and  the 
Mohley  houses.  He  sold  out  to  Arthur  T.  Scales  in  1882.  Prof.  B.  L.  Dodge  came  to  Oak  Park  in  the 
summer  of  1876  and  took  charge  of  the  Oak  Park  schools.  He  is  now  superintendent  of  the  Cicero  Water, 
Gas  and  Electric  Light  Works.  Dr.  John  W.  Tope  came  to  Oak  Park  to  practice  medicine  in  1876. 
Albert  W.  Giles,  our  late  postmaster,  came  in  1876.  A.  Z.  Churchill  started  his  milk  business 
in  1878,  at  410  Harlem  avenue.  George  Nordenholt  started  the  first  successful  bakery  here  in 
1878,  and  is  succeeded  by  Albert  Burgess.  Mr.  Nordenholt  is  now  in  the  ice  business  on  Har- 
lem avenue.  H.  H.  Angell  (decesased)  came  in  1878  and  started  in  the  coal  business.  He  was 
afterward  joined  by  G.  S.  Townsend.  Miss  F.  Gill  started  the  first  millinery  store  in  Hoard's  block 
in  1877.  Mrs.  G.  W.  Brown  opened  her  millinery  business  at  205  Lake  street  in  1878.  John  Brown,  har- 
nessmaker, who  had  been  in  partnership  with  Mr.  Robbins,  commenced  business  for  himself  at  134  Lake 
street  in  1880.  Dr.  Lewis  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  1880.  In  1882  Antoine  Bedard  came  here 
from  River  Forest,  and,  in  company  with  Henry  Willett,  started  a  planing  mill,  which  has  resulted  in  the 
Bedard  &  Morency  Co.,  a  large  incorporated  concern.  H.M.  Plummer  in  1887  built  and  started  a  livery 
and  boarding  stable  at  126  Marion  street,  which  has  changed  hands  several  times  and  has  been  since 
enlarged.  It  is  now  conducted  by  W.  P.  Knapp,  who  came  here  in  1890.  McFadden  &  Brinkerhoff  started 
the  first  sewing  machine  agency  in  1885.  Gale  &  Block!  bought  out  Dr.  Peak's  drug  store  at  206  Lake 
street  in  1886,  and  continued  there  till  they  sold  out  to  C.  P.  Miller  in  1892.  Miss  E.  Outhett  (retired) 
succeeded  Mrs.  Fay  in  the  dry  goods  store  in  Hoard's  block  in  1882.  Bryant  Bros,  started^  their  lumber 
yard  in  1889.  The  Library  Association  was  started  in  1883. 

60 


August  Westphal  built  his  handsome  two-story  photograph  gallery  in  1886  and  carried  on  the  photo- 
graphing business  there  himself  for  one  year,  when  he  disposed  of  it  to  O.  B.  Thayer. 

A.  Wenter  entered  into  the  furniture  and  undertaking  business  in  1887  in  the  big  skating  rink  on  Mar- 
ion street.  He  is  now  at  209  Lake  street.  C.  F.  Kannenberg  started  in  the  boot  and  shoe  business  at  205 
Lake  street  in  1888.  He  built  his  brick  store  at  214  Lake  street  in  1890.  A.  L.  Gookins  (now  Gookins  & 
Wilsnach)  commenced  in  the  watch  and  jewelry  business,  with  a  window  in  Gale  &  Blocki's  drug  store, 
205  Lake  street  in  1886.  Dr.  John  D.  Waller  came  in  May,  1888. 

OTHER  BUSINESS  PEOPLE  HERE  IN  1888. 

The  names  of  the  following  additional  business  people  appear  in  the  first  published  directory  we  have 
— that  of  1888:  James  Darling,  sewer  builder,  Harlem  avenue,  near  Holley  court;  W.  C.  Woodward,  painter, 
119  Lake  street;  W.  O.  Williams,  meat  market,  130  Lake  street;  S.  M.  Peterson,  barber,  138  Lake  street; 
W.  E.  Coman,  boots  and  shoes,  postoffice  building  Marion  street;  Morris  Czmock,  hardware,  123  Lake 
street;  D.  Purnell,  hardware,  212  Lake  street;  S.  Sinden,  tile  and  tubular  wells,  141  Wesley  avenue;  Jas. 
McWilliams,  news  dealer,  102  Lake  street;  The  Cicero  Vindicator,  Marion  street;  William  Williams,  plum- 
ber, Dunlop's  Bank  building;  Jos.  A.  Rueff,  Jr.,  engraving  and  printing,  432  Grove  avenue;  O.  B.  Thayer, 
photographic  artist,  141  and  143  Lake  street;  Oak  Park  Reporter;  Schueman  &  Rueff,  Oak  Park  directory; 
Oak  Park  Building  and  Loan  Association;  Scales  &  Goodman,  periodicals  and  stationery;  E.  O.  Vaile,  pub- 
lisher; American  Spring  Co.,  water  works;  Wesley  A.  Arnold,  architect,  314  Boulevard;  C.  A.  Baker,  grocer, 
204  Lake  street;  Baker's  hall,  204  Lake  street;  Geo.  Bigden,  plumber,  111  Lake  street;  Bohlander  Bros., 
grocers,  115  Lake  street;  A.  G.  Bond,  M.  D.,  116  Marion  street;  Lawrence  Brown,  agent  C.  &  N.-W.  R.  R.; 
Miss  Nellie  Burgoyne,  dressmaker,  Dunlop's  bank  building;  H.  Burmeister,  cisternmaker,  104  Lake  street; 
Peter  Buskirk,  welldriver,  Madison  street  and  Oak  Park  avenue;  Mrs.  F.  J.  Case,  boarding  house,  109  Wis- 
consin avenue;  Rev.  Augusta  J.  Chapin,  pastor  Unity  church;  John  Cordray,  painter,  510  Marion  street; 
Edward  Czmock,  blacksmith,  121  Lake  street;  Rev.  S.  M.  Davis,  pastor  M.  E.  church,  230  Forest  avenue; 
F.  Dunnebecke,  boots  and  shoes,  125  Lake  street;  Oscar  Dunphy,  painter  and  paper  hanger,  131  Lake  street; 

62 


:TRAN-<JK  TO  FOKKST  IIOMK  CEMETERY one  and  one-half  miirs  s,« 


Chris  Ebel,  tailor,  126  Lake  stf eetr  MISsTEIizabeth  Faulkner,  teacher  High  school;  H.  W.  Gilbert,  paper 
hang-er,  307  Ann  street;  Henry  Goelitz,  plumber.  111  Lake  street;  Chas.  Haberland,  blacksmith,  124  Lake 
street;  Dr.  Anna  C.  Hardy,  homoeopathic  physician,  310  South  Oak  Park  avenue;  James  Harper,  mason,  101 
Harlem  avenue;  Miss  Ellen  H.  Heise,  M.D.,  postomce  building-;  Jas.  B.  Herrick,  M.D.,  307  Oak  Park  avenue; 
Hilmer  &  Kennedy,  dry  goods,  101  Lake  street;  Rev.  H.  N.  Hoyt,  pastor  Congregational  church,  North 
Oak  Park  avenue;  Miss  Alice  Huling,  teacher  public  schools,  127  Marion  street;  Henry  Hulsmann,  artist, 
214  Prairie  avenue;  Robert  S.  Ingalls,  Starbright  stables,  321  Lake  street;  F.  W.  Jackson,  superintendent 
Oak  Park  water  works,  357  Grove  avenue;  John  Jager,  policeman,  510  Marion  street;  J.  R.  Johns,  tailor 
and  clothier,  201  Lake  street;  Miss  Ida  M.  Jones,  teacher  public  schools;  J.  K.  Kent,  publisher  Reporter, 
Dunlop's  bank  building;  Kettlestrings  &  Elsom,  electrical  bell  hangers;  J.  W.  Kettlestrings,  conductor 
C.  &  R.  I.  R.  R.,  507  Oak  Park  avenue;  H.  Krogman,  contractor,  212  Prairie  avenue;  Miss  Lillian  A.  La  Bee, 
school  teacher,  109  Wisconsin  avenue;  Miss  M.  J.  Leonard,  proprietress  Hotel  Leonard,  127  Lake  street; 
Miss  Amelia  G.  Littell,  teacher  public  schools,  294  Home  avenue;  Mrs.  A.  M.  Libby,  dressmaker,  123  Euclid 
avenue;  Arthur  Loewy,  assistant  postmaster;  L.  M.  Lovett,  druggist,  200  Lake  street;  Chas.  G.  Lowry, 
contractor,  503  Menominee  street;  A.  C.  Luetge,  gardener,  Forest  and  Chicago  avenues;  Mrs.  H. 
Lueliing, dressmaker,  239  Elizabeth  street,  Chas.C.  Lussow,  carpenter,  Forest  and  North  Chicago  avenues; 
Henry  Lussow,  mason,  North  Forest  avenue;  E.  J.  Masters,  builder,  480  Grove  avenue;  McFadden  &  Ray, 
electric  bell  hangers,  227  Marion  street;  Geo.  Mead,  paper  hanger,  251  Clinton  avenue;  Wm.  Meir,  farmer, 
Chicago  and  Scoville  avenues;  Jacob  Merkel,  ice  dealer,  103  South  Grove,  Miss  J.  S.  Moody,  music  teacher, 
523  Oak  Park  avenue;  Mrs.  A.  Munro,  restaurant  and  boarding  house,  212  Lake  street;  Oak  Park  Water, 
Gas  and  Electric  Light  Co.,  Oak  Park  avenue  and  Boulevard;  John  Pagers,  barber,  107  Lake  street;  Miss 
E.  L.  Pebbles,  assistant  postmaster;  Andrew  Pederson,  florist,  Oak  Park  avenue;  Peterson  Bros.,  painters, 
138  Lake  street;  F.  V.  Peterson,  boarding  house,  corner  Elizabeth  street  and  Harlem  avenue;  S.  M.  Peter- 
son, barber,  138  Lake  street;  Rev.  G.  B.  Pratt,  rector  Grace  Episcopal  church;  D.  Purnell,  general  tin 
works  and  hardware,  212  Lake  street;  John  M.  Retter,  dentist,  502  Lake  street;  Miss  Nellie  Bur- 
goyne,  dressmaker,  Dunlop's  bank  building;  W.  W.  Rogers,  milk  dealer,  422  Ann  street;  W.  Schmidt, 
contractor,  408  Harlem  avenue;  A.  H.  Schneider,  florist;  Philip  Schneider,  boots  and  shoes,  118  Lake 

64 


IKST  ASS'T.         I.  NOKDMA 


street;  Miss  Lizzie  Schoff,  dressmaker,  223  Elizabeth  street;  A.  Schultz,  painter,  506  Harlem  avenue; 
Ferd.  Schwedler,  policeman,  231  Elizabeth  street;  Miss  Jennie  B.  Shaw,  dressmaker,  349  Boulevard;  Ed. 
Sheehan,  oats  and  hay,  Madison  street;  John  Sheehan,  farmer,  Madison  street;  Miss  Emma  Shepard, 
dressmaker,  328  Grove  avenue;  Miss  A.  Sierck,  dressmaker,  136  Lake  street;  J.  W.  Smith,  real  estate  and 
loans,  426  Cedar  street;  Miss  Carrie  Starring-,  teacher,  709  Walnut  street;  S.  S.  Start,  coal  dealer,  145 
Boulevard;  William  Steiner,  postmaster,  233  Marion  street;  Miss  H.  Swanson,  dressmaker,  503  Menominee 
street;  Mrs.  Temple,  teacher,  public  schools;  Miss  Clara  Timme,  dressmaker,  117  Lake  street;  Miss  E. 
Tinker,  dressmaker,  326  Ann  street;  O.  W.  Turner,  justice  of  the  peace,  315  Lake  street;  E.  O.  Vaile, 
publisher,  435  Grove  avenue;  O.  Vaillancourt,  jeweler,  412  Harlem  avenue;  C.  W.  Van  Keuren,  builder, 
412  Boulevard;  W.  J.  Van  Keuren,  architect,  412  Boulevard;  Andrew  Vogt,  insurance  agent,  127  N.  Boule- 
vard; Miss  Mary  Walker,  teacher  Oak  Park  hig-h  school;  Miss  Elizabeth  Waters,  teacher  public  schools; 
G.  R.  Weed,  grocer,  507  Menominee  street;  R.  S.  Welch,  contractor,  227  Marion  street;  Geo.  R.  Whapcls, 
sewer  builder,  341  Boulevard;  Mrs.  F.  B.  White,  dressmaker,  303  Ann  street;  N.  A.  Whittlesy,  grocer,  148 
Lake  street;  Wm.  Wickie,  builder,  332  Home  avenue;  Mrs.  A.  A.  Wilder,  dressmaker,  105  Lake  street; 
F.  E.  Will,  leather,  106  Lake  street;  Mrs.  F.  E.  Will,  dry  goods,  106  Lake  street;  W.  O.  Williams,  meat 
market,  132  Lake  street;  Elias  W.  Wood,  M.D.,  122  Marion  street;  Miss  Hattie  J.  Wood,  librarian,  Oak 
Park  Library  Association,  Postomce  building;  Fred  H.  Wood,  secretary  and  treasurer,  American  Spring 
Co.;  W.  H.  Worswick,  carpenter,  418  Harlem  avenue;  W.  H.  Yorke,  farmer,  468  Willis  street;  M.E.  Young, 
civil  engineer,  142  Lake  street;  J.  T.  Barbeau,  contractor,  141  South  Harvey  avenue;  J.  Bernard,  carpenter, 
Ridgeland  avenue,  near  Lake  street;  Geo.  Butters,  real  estate,  corner  Ridgeland  avenue  and  Cedar  street; 
S.  S.  Carman,  grocer,  Ridgeland  avenue  and  Lake  street;  E.  A.  Colburn,  milk  dealer,  Ogden  avenue,  near 
Chestnut  street;  Wright  Elsom,  farmer,  Lombard  avenue,  near  Lake  street;  John  Heuermann,  mechanical 
engineer,  Ridgeland  avenue  and  Iowa  street;  Miss  Georgella  Lay,  pianist,  Taylor  avenue,  near  Lake  street; 
John  Crane,  Jr.,  real  estate. 


OAK  PARK  POLICE  FORCE. 


THE  HOME  FINDERS. 

So  many  persons  of  extensive  business,  important  relations,  professional  distinction  and  considerable 
wealth  had  made  their  homes  here  before  the  close  of  1888,  that  to  make  a  choice  by  mentioning"  some  and 
not  others  would  appear  invidious,  and  to  name  them  all  would  be  like  copying  the  directory;  yet  we  must 
be  excused  if  we  do  make  reference  to  a  few  of  the  home  makers  that  had  come  here  up  to  the  time  men- 
tioned. They  are  O.  D.  Allen,  who  has  filled  so  many  public  offices  faithfully ;  Jesse  A.  Baldwin,  distinguished 
attorney;  Farlin  Q.  Ball,  well  known  jurist;  Frank  Ballard,  real  estate  dealer;  William  Beye  (deceased) 
after  whom  one  of  our  public  schools  is  named;  W.  E.  Blackstone,  philanthropist;  C.  E.  Bolles,  business 
man  and  real  estate  owner;  A.  W.  Bryant,  lumber  merchant;  J.  F.  Cleveland,  assistant  land  commissioner 
C.  &  N.-W.  R.  R.;  E.  S.  Conway,  of  W.  W.  Kimball  Co.,  who  has  served  the  town  in  many  ways;  W.  H. 
Cribben,  of  Cribben  &  Sexton,  manufacturers;  Geo.  Eckart,  of  C.  P.  Kellogg  &  Co.,  wholesale  clothiers, 
who  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  Oak  Park  affairs;  A.  M.  Freer,  lawyer  and  capitalist;  Geo.  C. 
Gerts,  manufacturer  ;  W.  C.  Grey,  editor  of  the  Interior;  S.  J.  Humphrey,  D.D. ;  W.  H.  Kerkhoff,  presi- 
dent Bullock  Press  Co.;  John  Lewis,  lawyer  and  present  town  supervisor;  Warren  F.  Furbeck,  well  known 
street  railroad  man;  E.  W.  Lyman,  fire  insurance  agent,  and  at  one  time  president  of  the  town;  J.  W.  Mid- 
dleton,  stationer  and  printer;  Walter  F.  Mills,  lecturer;  N.  G.  Moore,  lawyer  of  distinction;  C.  M.  Morton, 
evangelist;  Ira  H.  Owen,  steamship  owner;  S.  W.  Packard,  attorney  and  prominent  prohibitionist;  Frank 
W.  Palmer,  editor  and  late  public  printer  at  Washington;  Edward  Payson,  of  the  Payson  Manufacturing 
Co.;  Frank  M.  Pebbles,  portrait  artist;  Roger  Sampson,  merchant;  C.  P.  Thomas,  architect;  H.  S.  Towle, 
of  Offield  &  Towle,  patent  attorneys;  R.  S.  Worthington,  assistant  secretary  Board  of  Trade;  C.  L.  Ames, 
of  Ames  &  Frost;  F.  J.  C.  Borwell,  dry  goods;  J.  G.  Charlton,  assistant  general  passenger  agent  Chicago 
&  Alton  R.  R.;  Hiram  Coombs,  real  estate;  E.  A.  Cummings,  real  estate  and  transportation;  R.  D.  Gates, 
Gates  Iron  Works;  E.  A.  Pitkin,  of  Pitkin  &  Brooks. 


FREER'S  RANCH  GREENHOUSES Superior  Street  and  Linden  Avenue  (now  discontinued). 


TOWN  LEGISLATION. 

Road  making-  was  the  first  work  of  county  legislation  in  the  town  of  Cicero.  Riverside  Parkway,  on 
the  south  side,  which  had  a  length  of  four  miles  in  this  town,  was  macadamized  and  graveled  in  1850.  It 
has  a  road  bed  of  nearly  fifty  feet  in  width,  with  ditches  on  each  side,  and  also  side  roads  or  walks.  Ogden 
avenue,  which  runs  from  Chicago  to  Lyons,  through  Cicero,  was  graded  and  graveled  at  a  cost  of  about 
$8,000  per  mile.  Twelfth  street  was  graded  and  graveled  to  a  length  of  two  and  a  half  miles.  Madison 
street  was  graded,  macadamized  and  graveled  to  a  length  of  four  miles,  and  Lake  street  was  improved  to 
Ridgeland.  James  W.  Scoville  and  others  improved  the  roadway  through  Ridgeland  at  their  own  expense, 
and  a  toll  road  was  maintained  by  them  for  a  time  between  Austin  and  Oak  Park. 

The  great  want  of  the  town  in  its  early  stages,  next  to  roads,  was  drainage,  and  for  this  purpose  the 
sum  of  $50,000  was  appropriated  in  the  year  1868.  Ditches  were  made  on  all  the  section  lines.  A  second 
assessment  was  made  for  ditches  on  half-section  lines.  In  all,  up  to  1883,  the  sum  of  $150,000  had  been 
expended  on  ditches  carrying  the  water  to  Mud  lake,  which  is  situated  near  the  southeast  extremity  of  the 
town  in  the  city.  Some  fifty  miles  of  ditches  were  constructed.  Sewers  then  were  too  expensive.  These 
ditches  were  twelve  feet  wide  at  the  top,  four  feet  deep,  and  two  and  a  half  feet  wide  at  the  bottom.  The 
section  line  sewers  were  enlarged  from  time  to  time  until  some  of  them  looked  like  small  canals.  The 
effect  on  the  value  of  property  was  very  great.  In  1869  the  highest  price  paid  for  land  in  section  22  was 
$200  per  acre;  in  a  short  time  after  the  ditches  were  opened  $3,000  per  acre  was  refused  for  the  same  land. 

The  earliest  official  report  of  the  Town  of  Cicero  I  have  been  able  to  lay  hands  on  is  for  the  year  1869. 
It  is  a  diminutive  affair.  It  is  signed  bv  the  late  John  McCaffery  as  president  of  the  board  of  trustees.  The 
Riverside  Parkway  on  the  south  side  was  then  the  important  matter  before  the  board.  It  will  sound 
strange  to  find,  in  the  superintendent's  (John  Crawford's)  report,  suggestions  about  the  improvement  of 
Western  avenue,  which  is  now  three  and  a  half  miles  east  of  the  Cicero  border  at  Lake  street.  J.  T. 
Foster  was  at  that  time  town  engineer.  There  was  included  in  the  small  pamphlet  a  report  from  Lyman 
Bridges,  contractor  for  a  sewer  at  Austin.  George  Philbrick  was  town  clerk.  The  total  expenditure  for 
the  whole  town  that  year,  including  special  assessments  for  ditches,  was  $78,364.19.  H.  W.  Austin  was 
the  only  man  from  Oak  Park  on  the  board  in  1869. 

70 


VIEW   IN   ELIZABETH   COURT Ri-siclc-ncos  of  C.  A.  Purcell  and  Edward  Payson. 


That  year  the  state  legislature  granted  a  new  charter  to  the  town  of  Cicero  that  increased  the  number 
of  trustees  of  the  town  from  two  to  four. 

In  1870  the  town  hall  was  built  in  Austin.  A  continuous  wooden  sidewalk  on  the  south  side  of  Lake 
street  to  Oak  Park  from  Chicago  was  finished.  There  was  one  policeman  put  under  pay  in  the  village. 

In  1875  condemnation  proceedings  for  opening  Marion  street  from  Lake  street  to  Chicago  avenue  were 
commenced.  Butler,  Herrick  and  Scoville  were  on  the  town  board  that  year.  The  compensation  paid 
members  was  $3  a  day  for  actual  attendance  on  meetings  of  the  board  and  committees. 

In  1881  Oak  Park  had  two  policemen — Fred  Haecker  and  J.  Graham — at  $50  per  month.  The  interest 
fund  that  year  was  $14,945,  and  the  bonded  indebtedness  $116,000;  annual  appropriation,  $28,000.  J.  J. 
McCarthy  was  town  treasurer.  The  Oak  Park  members  of  the  town  board  were  H.  C.  Hansen,  Simpson 
Dunlop  and  Geo.  Butters. 

In  1883  Conway,  Pebbles  and  Butters  represented  Oak  Park  on  the  town  board.  The  first  Oak  Park 
item  (about  the  new  Lake  street  sewer)  appeared  in  the  Vindicator  of  July  22,  1883. 

In  August  of  this  year  Mr.  Samuel  Dunlop  dropped  dead  in  front  of  his  residence.  A  serious  accident 
took  place  on  the  "dummy "line  at  the  double  curve,  October  6;  Mr.  J.  H.  Hittorf  and  others,  passen- 
gers, were  badly  hurt.  An  entertainment  was  given  by  the  Oak  Park  Literary  Association.  The  first 
editorial  article  in  the  Vindicator  concerning  Cicero  appeared  September  22.  First  report  of  trustees' 
meeting  appeared  October  6. 

In  1884  Conway,  Pebbles  and  Butters  were  the  Oak  Park  representatives  elected  to  the  town  board. 
The  appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  of  1884-5  were  $36,000.  Timothy  T.  Kennedy  was  made  captain  of 
police,  with  a  salary  of  $83  per  month.  The  Oak  Park  avenue  pipe  sewer  was  begun.  Street  lamps  were 
set  up  this  year.  The  big  skating  rink  on  Marion  street  was  built.  Geo.  A.  Ingalls  died  of  rheumatism 
of  the  heart;  he  was  president  of  the  Cicero  republican  club.  A  movement  in  favor  of  street  signs  was 
started.  An  addition  of  four  rooms  was  made  to  the  Central  school  building. 

M.  C.  Niles  was  treasurer  of  the  town  in  1876.  The  total  disbursements  that  year  were  $32,001.92, 
while  the  appropriation  was  only  $20,000.  In  1877  the  appropriation  was  $20,000.  In  1878,  $30,000;  in  1879, 
$27,600;  in  1880,  $22,000;  in  1881,  $28,000;  in  1882,  $38,000;  in  1883,  $36,000. 


I  : 


Trustee  Conway,  returning  from  California,  was  presented  with  a  diamond  studded  official  star.  The 
"dummy"track  was  snowed  under  for  six  weeks  of  the  winter.  The  Citizens' Union  party  was  badly  defeated 
in  the  town  election.  There  was  a  musical  club  and  a  historical  club  organized;  also  a  new  building  and 
loan  association.  H.W.Austin  put  a  prohibition  ticket  in  the  field  at  the  spring  election.  Dr.  Peck  opened 
a  registry  of  names  of  residents  at  his  drug  store,  which  was  our  first  directory.  J.  H.  Hittorf  obtained 
judgment  for  $4,500  on  account  of  his  "dummy"  injuries, sustained  more  than  a  year  previous.  The  stand 
pipe  for  the  water  works  was  erected  and  water  pipes  laid  in  different  streets  by  Mr.  Scoville.  The  base- 
ball club  was  organized  this  year,  with  Thos.  H.  Gale  as  president.  There  was  a  carnival  held  in  the  big 
skating  rink,  that  was  largely  attended,  April  23.  Attorney  Crafts  was  dismissed  from  the  office  of  town 
attorney,  and  Mr.W.  A.  Sheridan,  of  Oak  Park,  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  Haberland's  house  at  224  Lake 
street  was  rented  for  town  purposes,  at  $15  per  month.  It  was  designed  principally  for  police  purposes. 
The  National  Union  was  organized  here  this  year.  Oak  Park  got  an  additional  policeman  in  the  present 
lieutenant,  making  a  force  of  three.  Mr.  Scoville's  water  reservoir,  constructed  in  1878,  was  enlarged  this 
year.  The  erection  of  the  Scoville  Institute  was  begun.  William  Steiner  was  appointed  postmaster  by 
President  Cleveland  after  a  hot  contest  with  H.  C.  Hansen.  The  Weekly  Review  was  started  this  year, 
but  after  a  few  months'  existence  was  bought  by  the  Vindicator.  There  was  a  big  meeting  held  in  favor  of 
fire  protection.  The  use  of  street  signs  was  begun.  The  Chicago  Telephone  Co.  secured  an  ordinance  for 
the  erection  of  poles  and  for  carrying  on  its  business.  The  German  Old  People's  Home  was  begun.  The 
Scoville  Institute  was  incorporated  with  fifteen  directors.  Mr.  Scoville  donated  $75,000  for  building  and 
$25,000  for  maintenance.  The  Vindicator  was  made  the  official  paper  of  the  town  of  Cicero.  Gen.  Grant 
Council,  Royal  Arcanum,  was  instituted  in  July.  George  Hull,  father  of  Mr.  Delos  Hull,  died  on  August  2 
at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-nine  years.  Oak  Park,  having  over  450  voters,  was  granted  a  second  polling 
place.  Maple  avenue  sewer  was  completed  August  15.  The  "Jolly  Five"  pleasure  club  made  their 
appearance.  The  Oak  Park  Silver  Cornet  Band  was  organized  with  fourteen  members.  The  public  school 
opened  with  a  corps  of  seventeen  teachers.  The  water  works  were  finished  and  two  miles  of  pipe  laid. 
The  streets  were  sprinkled  for  the  first  time.  The  skating  rink  was  opened  October  3,  with  the  new  town 
band  furnishing  the  music.  The  purchase  of  a  hose  cart  and  500  feet  of  hose  for  Oak  Park  was  recom- 


mended.  The  "  Peculiar  "  club  and  the  "  Curious  "  club  were  both  new  social  organizations.  The  Library 
Association  gave  a  winter  course  of  lectures  in  Hoard's  hall,  with  Rev.  P.  S.  Henson  giving  the  first  lecture. 
The  "  dummy  "  road  was  sold  by  the  master  in  chancery  for  $46,000  to  Frederick  Belz,  who  bought  it  fora 
third  party.  The  town  board  entered  into  contract  with  J. W.Scoville  for  a  water  supply  for  the  extinguish- 
ment of  fires.  The  library  was  removed  from  over  Hansen's  store  to  over  the  new  postoffice.  A  social 
club  like  the  Oaks  of  Austin,  was  talked  of.  A  new  suburban  railroad,  to  be  known  as  the  Chicago, 
Harlem  &  Batavialine,  was  incorporated. 

SOME  LATER  EVENTS. 

The  first  directory  of  the  village  was  issued  by  Gale  &  Blocki,  druggists,  in  the  spring  of  1886. 

The  Reporter  newspaper  was  started  May  19, 1887,  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Kent.  It  led  a  precarious  existence  until 
it  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Isaac  Herr,  September  28,  1888.  The  name  of  Railroad  avenue  was  changed  to 
Boulevard.  The  League  hotel  was  opened  by  Mr.  Robert  Ingalls.  Oak  Park  Council,  No.  18,  Royal 
League,  was  instituted  in  May,  1887.  The  water  works  were  enlarged,  incorporated  and  designed  to 
serve  the  whole  town  of  Cicero.  The  fire  brigade  was  organized.  The  Dunlop  bank  building  was  erected. 
Incandescent  electric  lights  were  offered  for  lighting  the  town  at  $85  per  lamp  per  annum.  The  Wisconsin 
Central  railroad  was  in  operation,  and  took  a  Sunday  school  excursion  to  River  Park  in  July,  1887.  Trustee 
Conway  tendered  his  resignation  to  the  town  board,  and  Mr.  W.  A.  Hutchinson  was  appointed  trustee  in  his 
stead.  Messrs.  Shoemaker  &  Rueff  announced  a  new  village  directory  for  1887.  The  stock  for  the  new 
water  company  was  all  subscribed  for  by  the  month  of  August.  The  League  hotel  was  closed  in  Septem- 
ber. Dunlop  Bros.'  bank  opened  December  1, 1887.  The  Oak  Park  club  gave  a  grand  ball  in  Hoard's  hall. 

Central  Park  and  Brighton  Park,  precincts  of  Cicero,  voted  in  favor  of  annexation  to  Chicago  on 
November  8,  1887.  County  Judge  Prendergast  declared  the  election  illegal.  The  Chicago,  Harlem  & 
Batavia  dummy  line  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Wisconsin  Central.  The  first  ball  of  the  Oak  Park 
Band,  in  Steiner's  hall,  was  numerously  attended.  A  part  of  Moreland  and  Crawford  voted  for  annexation 
to  Chicago. 

78 


KKSIIMCXCE  OF    D.  J.  KENNEDY 40'l  Kenil 


Decoration  day,  May,  1888,  was  observed  with  more  than  ordinary  display.  Hon.  Walter  Thomas 
Mills  lectured  on  "Intercollegiate  Associations"  in  Steiner's  hall,  June  8.  Plats  for  numbering  houses 
were  adopted  by  the  town  board  June  23.  The  Chicago,  Harlem  &  Batavia  suburban  railroad  line 
(Wisconsin  Central)  was  double-tracked  and  fully  equipped  to  take  passengers  to  Harrison  street  station 
in  Chicago,  with  seventy  dummy  and  motor  trains  daily.  Trustee  Andrew  Vogt  was  made  captain  of 
police.  The  dedicatory  exercises  of  the  Scoville  Institute  took  place  in  the  Congregational  church  on 
the  evening  of  October  9,  1888,  and  a  subscription  was  at  once  raised  for  purchasing  books  for  the  library 
to  the  amount  of  $6,524,  which  was  subsequently  increased.  Gen.  Phil  Sheridan's  name  was  given  to  the 
Grand  Army  post  here,  just  as  soon  as  his  death  was  announced.  Preparations  were  made  for  opening 
Washington  boulevard  through  the  town. 

The  year  1889  started  in  grandly  for  the  town.  It  inaugurated  a  new  literary  club,  a  new  musical 
society,  a  new  high  school,  a  new  electric  street  railroad,  a  new  boulevard,  and  many  new  houses  going  up 
in  all  parts  of  the  town,  with  new  subdivisions  platted  in  all  directions.  The  Letters  Club  was  organized 
Monday,  January  14,  with  Hon.  Frank  M.  Palmer  presiding.  Forty  persons  became  members  at  first 
meeting.  The  Cicero  &  Proviso  electric  street  railroad  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock  of  $250,000. 
Mr.  E.  A.  Cummings  was  the  moving  spirit  in  this  enterprise.  The  Choral  Union  was  organized  in 
January  in  the  auditorium  of  the  Scoville  Institute,  with  118  members,  under  the  direction  of  Prof. 
Robertshaw,  of  Austin. 

THE  PRESS. 

Oak  Park  has  now  quite  a  number  of  periodical  publications,  some  of  them  with  large  circulations. 
Mr.  E.  O.  Vaile  started  the  first  printing  office  in  the  town  for  his  educational  publications,  in  1883.  The 
Alert  was  the  name  of  the  first  local  weekly  paper.  It  was  started  in  1882  by  two  young  men  named  Ely 
and  Schroeder,  but  it  lasted  only  a  few  months.  It  was  succeeded  by  a  paper  called  Along  the  Line  in 

1884,  which  appeared  rather  irregularly  for  a  number  of  months.     Then  came  the    Weekly  Review   in 

1885,  which  was  purchased  by  the  Vindicator  after  a  few  months  of  unprofitable  existence.     The  Dollar 
Weekly  Sun,  printed  at  the  Stock  Yards  by  Goodall  &  Co.,  but  publishing  Cicero  news,  circulated  here  for 

80 


RESIDENCE  OF  JOHN    I).  ROSS 238  Nort 


a  while,  but  was  discontinued  shortly  after  the  Vindicator  made  its  appearance.  The  Lake  Vindicator  was 
circulated  here  for  a  year  or  more  with  Cicero  news  before  the  Cicero  Vindicator,  published  by  William 
Halley,  appeared  February  7,  1885;  it  came  out  in  support  of  the  new  republican  municipal  party.  It 
aimed  to  cover  both  Cicero  and  Proviso.  The  Reporter  was  started  May  19,  1887,  by  J.  E.  Kent,  and  was 
purchased  by  Isaac  Herr,  September  28,  1888.  Cordray  Bros,  published  the  Oak  Park  News  for  a  couple 
of  years  (1890  and  1891)  as  an  independent  local  paper.  The  Oak  Park  Times,  a  little  advertising-  sheet, 
made  its  first  appearance  in  1896,  and  was  published  three  times  a  week  by  Mr.  Richard  L.  Roe.  After  some 
months  it  was  reduced  to  twice  a  week,  and  finally  to  once  a  week.  The  Vindicator,  the  Reporter  and  the 
Times  continue  to  be  published  once  a  week.  Mr.  Halley  issued  a  prospectus  for  a  daily  edition  of  the 
Vindicator  during  the  summer  of  1897,  before  the  Chicago  Daily  Tribune  commenced  the  publication  of  a 
suburban  daily  edition,  giving-  all  the  news  of  Cicero  and  Proviso  every  day  and  putting-  a  stop  to  Mr. 
Halley 's  contemplated  enterprise.  The  Vindicato r  was  sold  in  November,  1897,  to  W.  O.  Cline,  of  Austin, 
who  is  now  its  publisher. 

No  less  than  seventeen  different  periodicals  are  now  entered  in  the  Oak  Park  postoffice.  Eig-ht  of 
these  are  educational  publications,  fathered  by  E.  O.  Vaile.  They  are  as  follows:  Week's  Current,  Intelli- 
gence, Rasy  Lines,  Sense  Reader,  Teachers'  Magazine,  Fresh  Lives,  Young  Wide  Awake  and  Educational 
Reporter;  all  are  monthly  except  Intelligence,  which  is  semi-monthly.  The  others  are  the  Message  and 
Deaconess  Advocate,  Grace  Church  Items,  the  Star,  Life  Insurance  Courant,  and  the  Sentinel;  all  are  pub- 
lished monthly.  Schleswig  Holstcin  is  a  semi-monthly  German  paper.  The  Post  is  a  German  local  weekly 
newspaper,  published  at  Harlem,  by  Frank  Lehman.  The  Star  is  "A  paper  for  young- folks,"  started 
four  years  ag-o  and  enjoying-  a  large  and  growing  circulation.  It  is  published  by  Jos.  R.  Hunter.  The 
Sentinel  \\ssi  removed  here  in  June  last  from  San  Francisco  and  enjoys  a  large  circulation  ;  it  is  the  official 
organ  of  the  Supreme  Lodge  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor.  By  the  foregoing  it  will  be  noticed  that 
Oak  Park  has  become  quite  a  publication  center. 


KKMI>K.\X-K   <>K    K.  S.  THAIN 210  Home  A 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  Oak  Park  Club  was  organized  in  the  spring  of  1890,  with  J.  H.  Hurlbut  as  president;  H.  S. 
Towle,  vice-president;  William  C.  Warner,  second  vice-president;  George  Landis  Wilson,  secretary;  H.  J. 
Ullman,  treasurer.  It  took  possession  of  the  Scoville  Place  residence,  July  4  of  the  same  year,  which  it 
occupied  till  the  spring  of  1893.  July  18,  1893,  the  club  purchased  its  present  choice  location  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  North  Boulevard  and  Park  Place,  and  on  the  14th  day  of  November  following,  the  alterations 
and  additions  were  finished,  and  the  establishment  formally  opened.  Twenty-four  thousand  dollars  was 
paid  for  the  ground  and  the  residence  then  upon  it,  and  a  barn  in  the  rear.  It  takes  about  $9,500  a  year 
to  meet  all  the  obligations  of  the  management.  During  the  year  1898  an  accession  of  new  members  was 
received  on  account  of  the  disbanding  of  the  Prairie  Club,  and  the  active  membership  is  now  about  250. 
The  main  object  of  the  club  is  to  promote  social  intercourse.  It  maintains  a  dancing  class,  a  whist  club, 
an  athletic  association  and  a  banjo  club.  Entertainments  of  various  kinds  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  present  officers  are  as  follows:  President,  Fletcher  B.  Gibbs;  first  vice-president,  Henry  A.  Taylor; 
second  vice-president,  E.  F.  Malone;  secretary,  Farlin  H.  Ball;  treasurer,  Thomas  H.  Gale;  Melancthon 
Smith;  directors,  T.  J.  Skillen,  C.  L.  Williams,  Theodore  F.  Bliss,  Dwight  Jackson,  A.  E.  Walters,  Maurice 
von  Flatten.  The  Oak  Park  Club  greatly  enhances  the  enjoyment  of  life  in  this  elegant  suburb.  It  has 
lately  taken  charge  of  the  open  air  band  concerts,  which  were  inaugurated  by  the  disbanded  Prairie  Club 
four  years  ago.  They  are  now  given  in  the  Scoville  Place  grounds,  instead  of  the  old  Home  avenue 
location.  As  a  matter  of  record  it  may  be  stated  that  the  band  employed  is  Brooks'  military  band,  and  the 
night  Thursday.  The  present  is  the  fifth  series  of  those  concerts. 

The  Nineteenth  Century  Club  is  a  leading  woman's  organization,  with  a  membership  of  about 
eighty-five.  It  was  formed  in  October,  1891.  It  has  departments  in  arts,  literature,  social  economics, 
and  education.  Its  present  officers  are  as  follows:  President,  Mary  E.  Marsh;  vice-president,  Martha 
P.  Falconer;  secretary,  Grace  D.  Terry;  treasurer,  Minnie  W.  Ward.  The  board  of  managers  consists 
of  the  foregoing  officers,  and  in  addition,  Anna  L.  Wright,  Clara  W.  Seabury,  Mary  A.  Wadsworth,  Marie 
C.  Remick,  Catharine  L.  Wright.  This  club  is  active  and  efficient.  It  meets  in  Avenue  hall  on  the 
second  and  fourth  Mondays  of  each  month,  from  October  to  May. 

84 


KM  SIHKXCK   OF    MRS.  C.   I).  PAIXK 1.4.1  X.n-tli  Oak  Park  A 


SUBURBAN  TRANSPORTATION. 

The  improvement  of  transportation  facilities  to  and  from  Chicago  and  cheapening1  the  fares  has 
always  been  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Oak  Park.  For  many  years  they  were  altogether 
dependent  upon  the  stinted  facilities  offered  by  the  Chicago  &  North-Western  railroad.  But  the  railroad 
was  here  before  the  town,  and  the  management  affected  to  despise  the  local  passenger  traffic  and  did  not 
endeavor  to  accommodate  itself  to  it  and  cultivate  it.  Formerly  the  patrons  were  required  to  build  or 
assist  in  building  the  station  houses,  and  the  conditions  upon  which  commutation  tickets  were  sold  were 
oppressive. 

The  Chicago  &  North-Western  railroad  line  was  built  to  Harlem  (now  Oak  Park)  in  1849,  but  the 
traffic  for  a  number  of  years  was  exceedingly  limited.  The  facilities  of  the  road  were  not  ample,  either. 
They  consisted  at  first  of  a  single  track  of  "strap  "  rails.  The  company  had  but  few  engines  and  cars, 
and  a  couple  of  round  trips  a  day  were  all  that  were  made.  Trains  did  not  exceed  two  or  three  cars,  and 
were  "mixed"  and  "accommodation"  trains.  The  charge  for  a  single  ride  to  or  from  Chicago  for  a 
passenger  was  at  first  forty  cents,  and  commutation  tickets  were  sold  at  the  rate  of  thirty  rides  for  $5.25, 
or  seventeen  and  one-half  cents  a  ride,  good  only  for  the  purchaser.  Yearly  tickets  were  sold  for  $60, 
half-yearly  tickets  for  $35,  and  quarterly  tickets  for  $18.  Those  tickets  allowed  the  holder  to  make  as 
many  trips  as  he  thought  proper.  After  a  time  the  single  trip  charge  was  reduced  to  thirty-five  cents, 
and  when  the  "dummy  "line  came  and  began  to  cut  into  the  business,  the  single  fare  was  reduced  to 
twenty-five  cents.  Before  the  present  commutation  rate  was  established  there  were  10-ride  and  50-ride 
individual  tickets  that  sold,  respectively,  for  $1.70  and  $5.  The  present  schedule  is  twenty-five  cents  for 
a  single  ride  between  Chicago  and  Oak  Park;  10-ride  unlimited  tickets,  $1.20;  25-ride  unlimited,  $2.50;  and 
60-ride  unlimited,  $4.75.  It  cannot  be  said  now  but  what  the  accommodation  offered  by  the  Chicago  & 
North-Western  steam  line  is  good,  the  trains  frequent  and  the  commutation  rates  reasonable;  but  it  took 
competition  to  bring  this  desirable  condition  about.  The  company  has  four  stations  within  the  limits  of 
Oak  Park,  one  of  which,  the  Oak  Park  station  proper,  at  Marion  street,  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1892, 
at  a  cost  of  about  $20,000,  and  is  a  creditable  structure. 


JESIDKNCK  OF   A.  F.  1SANKS JK,  Maple  Avenu 


The  Chicago,  Harlem  &  Batavia  "dummy"  line,  which  was  a  mere  makeshift,  ran  between  West 
Fortieth  street  and  the  cemeteries,  a  length  of  about  six  miles.  It  was  opened  in  1881,  and  continued 
making-  uncertain  trips  until  purchased  by  the  Wisconsin  Central  company,  November,  1887.  Its  charge 
was  ten  cents  a  trip  to  Oak  Park  from  West  Fortieth  street,  and  five  cents  more  to  the  cemeteries.  At 
West  Fortieth  street  it  connected  with  the  horse  cars  on  Madison  street  for  the  city. 

When  the  Wisconsin  Central  R.  R.  Co.  took  possession  of  the  "dummy"  line  and  fitted  up  the 
road  in  good  shape,  with  its  terminus  at  Harrison  street  in  Chicago,  it  was  expected  it  would  cut  the 
C.  &  N.-W.  rates  to  Chicago  at  once,  but  it  did  not,  merely  serving  out  unlimited  tickets  instead  of  indi- 
vidual tickets  at  the  same  rate  per  ride.  This  road  (still  known  as  the  Chicago,  Harlem  &  Batavia  line) 
double-tracked  and  finely  equipped  with  rolling  stock,  commenced  making  seventy  trips  between  Chicago 
and  Oak  Park  daily  in  June,  1888. 

A  pleasant  surprise  was  felt  when  it  was  learned  in  February,  1889,  that  E.  A.  Cummings  and  D.  J. 
Kennedy,  of  Oak  Park,  and  others,  had  formed  a  company  to  build  and  operate  electric  street  railroads  in 
Cicero  and  Proviso  townships,  and  had  secured  an  act  of  incorporation,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $250,000. 
September  16,  1890,  the  capital  stock  was  increased  to  $1,000,000.  Lines  were  built  west  from  Fortieth 
street  on  Madison  street  to  the  Desplaines  river ;  on  Forty-eighth  street  north  from  Madison  street  to  Lake 
street;  and  on  Lake  street  west  to  Oak  Park;  on  Harlem  avenue  south  to  Madison  street;  and  on  Des- 
plaines avenue  to  Waldheim  and  Forest  Home  cemeteries.  The  system  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  in 
1890.  The  charge  is  five  cents  a  ride,  with  transfers.  In  1892  the  line  was  extended  on  Forty-eighth 
street  to  Chicago  avenue,  and  on  Chicago  avenue  west  to  Harlem  avenue,  and  on  Harlem  avenue  south  to 
Lake  street.  Later,  the  Madison  street  line  was  extended  across  the  Desplaines  river  to  Maywood  and 
Melrose  Park,  and  on  Lake  street  to  Fifth  avenue  in  Maywood.  The  Cicero  &  Proviso  has  proved  a  great 
boon  to  the  people  of  both  towns.  The  number  of  miles  of  track  (single)  in  use  is  nearly  thirty-eight.  In 
1894  the  system  passed  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Yerkes  and  his  company. 

An  associate  line  of  the  Cicero  &  Proviso  is  the  Ogden  line,  organized  in  October,  1891,  by  the  same 
promoters,  and  like  the  C.  &  P.  is  now  a  part  of  the  West  Chicago  system.  It  owns  in  operation  thirty- 
five  miles  of  single  track,  with  nine  miles  yet  to  be  constructed.  By  the  system  of  transfers  in  use 


OLD  STYLE   DUMMY 


as  were  formerly  used  between  West  Fortieth  Street  and  Cemeteries. 


between  the  two  lines  one  can  ride  from  the  Desplaines  river  at  Maywood  east  to  Thirty-eighth  street; 
south  on  Thirty-eighth  street  to  West  Twenty -fifth  street;  thence  west  on  the  Ogden  line  to  the  village  of 
Lyons,  across  the  Desplaines  river,  thus  covering-  the  three  sides  of  a  square,  making-  altogether  about 
ten  miles  of  travel  for  one  nickel. 

Another  electric  system  that  the-%own  has  the  benefit  of  is  the  Suburban.  It  was  organized  in  May, 
1895.  This  was  at  first  an  opposition  line  to  the  Cicero  &  Proviso  and  the  Ogden  lines,  but  it,  too,  has 
dropped  into  the  Yerkes  receptacle.  The  original  company  built  an  electric  line  west  from  the  terminus 
of  the  Metropolitan  Elevated  railroad  at  West  Forty-eighth  street  to  the  village  of  La  Grange,  along  Harri- 
son street  to  Harlem  avenue  in  Oak  Park,  thence  south  to  Twenty-sixth  street,  thence  with  various  curva- 
tures west  to  La  Grange,  a  total  length  of  double  track  of  nine  miles.  The  original  Suburban  company 
succeeded  in  leasing  the  tracks  of  the  Chicago,  Harlem  &  Batavia  line  (then  belonging  to  the  Chicago  &  North- 
ern Pacific  company)  and  changed  the  motive  power  to  electricity;  but  before  doing  so,  in  order  to  gain  a 
concession  from  the  town,  gave  a  five-cent  fare  from  Oak  Park  to  the  Grand  Central  depot  in  Chicago,  us- 
ing the  lines  of  the  former  Wisconsin  Central  in  the  city.  What  the  people  had  so  long  sought  was  at  last 
realized ;  but  the  boon  was  not  long  enjoyed,  because  Mr.  Yerkes  stretched  out  his  capacious  paw,  and 
in  July,  1897,  gathered  the  Suburban  line,  with  the  Chicago,  Harlem  &  Batavia,  or  the  Chicago  &  Northern 
Pacific  (the  name  the  line  was  last  known  by),  into  his  vast  possession.  The  junction  with  the  Metro- 
politan Elevated  line  was  then  discontinued  and  a  junction  made  with  the  Lake  Street  Elevated  line  at 
West  Fifty-second  street,  one  mile  further  north. 

In  February  of  1898  the  Cicero  town  board  passed  an  ordinance  extending  the  franchise  of  the  Cicero 
&  Proviso  Street  Railroad  Co.  from  twenty  to  fifty  years,  under  the  Allen  law.  Part  of  the  consideration 
is  that  the  company  (which  is  associated  with  the  Lake  Street  Elevated  Co.)  shall  sell  tickets  of  twelve 
rides  for  $1,  good  for  transportation  from  Harlem  avenue,  the  western  extremity,  to  the  Lake  street 
Elevated  road,  and  over  the  same  and  around  the  loop  in  Chicago,  the  eastern  extremity,  on  the  Madison 
street,  Chicago  avenue  and  Forty-eighth  street  tracks  of  the  Cicero  &  Proviso  road.  Coupled  with  this  is 
the  requirement  that  the  Lake  street  elevated  line  shall  be  extended  one  mile  further  west  to  the  edge  of 
Oak  Park  at  Austin  avenue,  and  that  an  incline  shall  there  be  constructed  to  enable  the  cars  of  a  surface 

90 


line  to  be  built  on  South  Boulevard,  to  ascend  to  the  elevated  structure,  and  thus  enable  Oak  Park  and  other 
passengers  to  go  down  to  the  business  district  of  Chicago  without  changing  cars;  and  that  the  charge  on 
this  route  shall  be  twenty  rides  for  $1  or  five  cents  a  ride.  The  ordinance  provides  that  this  contract  shall 
be  in  operation  by  October  15,  1898.  Otherwise  the  Lake  Street  Elevated  Street  Car  Co.  shall  forfeit  a 
bond  for  $25,000  in  money,  and  lose  the  fifty-year  franchise  granted  the  Cicero  &  Proviso  company  by 
the  town. 

THE  SCOVILLE  INSTITUTE. 

The  Scoville  Institute  is  the  creation  of  the  late  James  W.  Scoville,  one  of  the  principal  founders  of 
the  town.  It  is  a  gift  from  a  man  of  many  gifts.  The  subject  of  a  free  library  for  the  villages  of  Oak 
Park  and  Ridgeland  engaged  his  attention  first  in  1883.  His  desire  was  to  endow  such  an  institution  with 
the  munificent  sum  of  $100,000,  and  to  make  it  an  ornament  and  an  honor  for  the  place  and  the  people,  as 
well  as  a  benefit  to  humanity.  Early  in  1883  he  associated  with  himself  a  number  of  his  neighbors  and 
friends  as  a  board  of  trustees,  and  the  institution  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  the  Scoville  Insti- 
tute. A  warranty  deed,  executed  April  20,  1883,  conveyed  the  ground  to  the  board,  and  the  first  stone  of 
the  foundation  was  laid  October  15,  1884.  The  corner  stone,  with  appropriate  ceremonies,  was  lowered  to 
its  place  September  4,  1886.  The  dedication  took  place  October  9,  1888.  The  style  of  the  building  is 
American  Romanesque.  The  material  of  the  exterior  is  a  bluish  white  limestone,  quarried  in  the  adjacent 
township  of  Lyons.  The  roof  is  covered  with  slate  from  Monson,  Me.  The  main  construction  of  the 
interior  is  fireproof,  with  brick  walls,  hollow  tile  partitions  and  iron  beams  with  tile  arches.  The  central 
feature  of  the  plan  is  an  octagonal  hall  twenty-one  feet  in  diameter,  which  is  reached  by  a  diagonal  passage 
from  the  large  corner  vestibule.  The  floors  of  all  the  halls  are  of  white  Italian  marble,  with  a  border  of 
red  slate.  The  stairways  are  also  of  marble.  The  reference  room  on  the  first  floor  is  laid  with  English 
tile;  the  other  public  rooms  have  floors  of  maple.  The  woodwork  of  the  front  rooms  in  the  second  story 
is  mahogany,  while  the  remaining  portions  are  finished  with  red  oak.  The  architects  of  this  beautiful 
structure  are  Messrs.  Patton  &  Fisher,  of  Chicago,  but  both  of  them  residents  of  Oak  Park.  The  deco- 
rative part  of  the  work  is  artistic  and  harmonious.  It  stands  complete  in  its  design,  its  execution  and 


CHICAGO    &    NORTH-WKSTKKN    R.   K.   DEPOT Norlli   li,,iil,.V:iril   ami  Marion  S1 


effect,  "A  thing-  of  beauty  and  a  joy  forever  "  to  the  people  of  Oak  Park.  A  glance  at  the  diagram,  printed 
elsewhere,  will  show  how  complete  are  its  equipments.  The  total  cost  to  the  donor  was  $115,049.27,  the 
building  and  furniture  being- $82,049.27;  the  lot  on  which  it  is  built  (140X200  feet)  $8,000;  and  an  endow- 
ment fund  of  $25,000.  The  books  of  the  library  association  that  before  existed  were  removed  on  its  open- 
ing to  the  Scoville  Institute,  and  the  citizens  subscribed  about  $8,000  for  the  purchase  of  new  books.  The 
number  of  books  now  in  the  library  is  11,384.  The  service  is  most  excellent,  and  the  librarian  is  a 
young  lady  of  superior  intelligence  and  tact. 

The  following  societies  have  their  meeting  place  in  the  Institute:  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  Chau- 
tauqua  Circle,  Nineteenth  Century  Club,  Augusta  Club,  Historical  Society,  Rubenstein  Club,  Agassiz 
Club,  Golf  Club,  Camera  Club  and  Sesame  Circle.  The  officers  of  the  Institute  are  as  follows:  President, 
C.  B.  Scoville;  vice-president,  E.  H.  Pitkin;  secretary,  W.  H.  Hatch;  treasurer,  O.  D.  Allen;  librarian, 
Miss  Cornelia  Marvin.  The  trustees,  in  addition  to  the  officers,  are:  John  Lewis,  George  Eckert,  Edward 
Cook,  N.  G.  Moore,  O.  W.  Herrick,  E.  S.  Conway,  L.  G.  Holley,  Wm.  H.  Wood  and  Jesse  A.  Baldwin. 

OAK  PARK  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

This  society  was  organized  May  30,  1898.  Twenty-five  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  present  at  the 
meeting,  which  was  held  in  the  Scoville  Institute.  Those  that  signed  the  constitution  and  became  members, 
with  the  vear  of  their  arrival  here,  are  as  follows:  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Porter  Furbeck,  1861;  Mrs.  Alice  M. 
Titus,  1861;  E.  O.  Gale,  1863;  Mr. and  Mrs.O.  C.  Blackmer,  1866;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  O.  Butler,  1868;  W.H. 
Wood,  1869;  Miss  Caroline  C.  Wood,  1869;  A.  J.  Cheney,  1870;  O.  D.  Allen,  1872;  John  Lewis,  1873;  R.  S. 
Worthington,  1877;  John  B.Stevens,  1877;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  O.  Vaile,  1880;  Mrs.  Isabel  Lewis,  1882;  Wm. 
Halley,  1883;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  L.  Ward,  1885;  H.  D.  Pierce,  1889;  John  E.  Hunt,  1892;  Wm.  Ritchie, 
1894.  Several  gentlemen  who  had  avowed  an  interest  in  the  new  society,  including  O.  W.  Herrick  and  E. 
S.  Conway,  were  unable  to  be  present.  The  following  officers  were  chosen:  President,  John  Lewis;  first 
vice-president,  O.  W.  Herrick;  second  vice-president,  Mrs.  A.  O.  Butler;  secretary,  E.  O. Vaile;  treasurer, 
R.  S.  Worthington;  trustees  for  three  years,  E.  S.  Conway,  Mrs.  C.  G.  Marsh;  trustees  for  two  years,  O. 
C.  Blackmer,  Mrs.  C.  J.  Ward;  trustees  for  one  year,  H.  D.  Pierce,  Miss  Caroline  C.  Wood. 

94 


iiscontimu'd. 


>ld" Dummy"  line  from  Crawford  avenue  (now  West  Fortieth  street)  to  the  cemeteries.   Purchased  by  the  Wisconsin  Cent 
npany,  and  extended  to  the  Grand  Central  depot,  Chicago.     Afterward  leased  by  the  Chicago  &  Northern  Pacific 
Company,  that  gave  a  five-cent  fare  to  the  city.  Subsequently  purchased  by  the  Suburban  Company.   Now 
owned  by  Mr.  Yerkes  and  connecting  with  the  Lake  Street  Elevated  line  at  Fifty-Second  Street. 


'The  object  of  the  society  is  to  collect  and  preserve  material  relating  to  the  history  of  Oak  Park  and 
vicinity.  Any  person  signing  the  constitution  and  paying  a  fee  of  $1  can  become  a  member.  The  meetings 
are  held  in  the  Scoville  Institute  monthly. 

THE  FIRST  RAILROAD  FREIGHT. 

The  first  railroad  freight  received  in  Chicago  was  over  the  Chicago  &  North-Western,  and  was  shipped 
at  Oak  Park.  The  shipper  was  Millican  Hunt,  of  Franklin  Grove,  who  has  narrated  the  event  in  a  late 
issue  of  the  Railway  Age.  It  was  in  November,  1848. 

HIGH  SCHOOL  GRADUATING  CLASS,  1898. 

Colors:  Green  and  white.  Motto:  "Certum  Pete  Finem.  Officers:  President,  William  Beye;  vice-president,  John 
Bartow  Patrick;  secretary,  Annie  V.  Luff;  treasurer,  Alice  O.  Ensign;  color  bearer,  Clare  H.  Conklin. 

CLASSICAL    COURSE. 

Josephine  Ashlernan.  Grace  Mabel  Crockett.  Frank  S.  Hyman.  John  Bartow  Patrick. 

Clare  Hart  Conklin.  Joseph  R.  Hunter.  Louis  Hooker  Palmer.  Emily  Pitkin. 

Alice  Rose.  Grace  Emma  Wilcox. 

LATIN    COURSK. 

Maude  Florence  Back.  Edwin  A.  Detrick.  Jennie  Villa  Kirtland.  Eliza  Walker  Moore. 

Nellie  Genevieve  Barnard.    Alice  Orra  Ensign.  Elsie  Mary  McPherson.  Sidney  C.  Niles. 

William  Beye.  Gertrude  C.  Griggs.  Frank  Eddie  Milligan.  Mabel  Marion  Osgood. 

Winifred  Emily  Coombs.       Grace  E.  Hadfield.  Owen  J.  Mink.  Frank  D.  Parkhurst. 
Florence  Whaples.                                                             R.  Archie  Yerkes. 

MODERN    LANGUAGE   COURSE. 

J.  Harry  Blackstone.  Agnes  J.  Goodwillie.  Flora  May  Jewell.  Iva  M.  Ruggles. 

Grace  Alleen  Bliss.  Linda  Gertrude  Holdrege.  Annie  V.  Luff.  Helene  May  Wallace. 

Mannette  Blackwell  Boyd.  Janet  Clark  Hollister.  Edith  E.  Rosenberry.  Arno  E.  Walther. 
Lillie  R.  Ervine. 

POPULATION  OF  OAK  PARK 

AT  DIFFERENT  PERIODS  SINCE  1878,  ACCORDING  TO  SCHOOL  CENSUS. 

1879,  .  .  1,608  1883,  .  .  2.476  1887,  .  .  3,767  1891,  .  .  5,152  1895,  .  .  7,520 

1880,  .  .  1,812  1884,  .  .  2,515  1888,  .  .  3,907  1892,  .  .  5,558  1896,  .  .  7,726 

1881,  .  .  1,913  1885,  .  .  3,117  1889,  .  .  4,269  1893,  .  .  6,264  1897,  .  .  8,298 

1882,  .  .  2,074  1886,  .  .  3,399  1890,  .  .  4,589  1894,  .  .  6,906  1898,  .  .  8,740 


^Bi»-^ 


NEW  GRACE  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

Ground  has  been  broken  for  the  new  Grace  Episcopal  Church,  on  Lake  street,  opposite  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  the  work  is  in  progress.  A  view  is  given  on  other  side.  The  style  of  architecture  is  Fourteenth 
Century  English  Gothic.  The  total  length  is  169  feet  and  greatest  width  65  feet.  The  nave,  including  the 
spacious  narthex,  is  111  feet  long,  and  53  feet  wide  from  aisle-wall  to  aisle-wall.  The  chancel  is  40  feet  deep  and 
of  the  same  width  and  length  as  the  nave,  the  line  of  the  nave  arcading  continuing  through  the  chancel.  It  is 
marked  off  from  the  nave  by  a  chancel  arch  within,  and  without  by  a  stone  coping  over  the  roof.  The  front 
of  the  church  faces  the  south,  and  has  a  tower  on  its  west  side  19  feet  square  and  80  feet  high.  The  main 
entrance  is  through  this  tower.  The  height  of  the  church  to  top  of  roof  will  be  60  feet.  The  tower  is  massive 
and  handsome,  and  designed  for  a  chime  of  bells.  On  the  east  side  of  the  south  front  is  an  entrance  porch. 
Between  the  tower  and  porch  is  located  the  baptestry,  octagonal  in  shape,  and  forming  a  prominent  feature  of 
both  the  exterior  and  interior  architecture. 

The  exterior  walls  will  be  of  Joliet  stone  with  Bedford  stone  trimmings.  The  interior  walls  will  be  of  red 
Roman  pressed  brick,  with  Portage  sandstone  arches  and  trimmings.  The  nave  arcade  is  supported  by  polished 
red  Tennessee  marble  monoliths,  with  molded  Portage  stone  caps  and  bases.  The  altar  is  raised  nine  steps  above 
the  nave  floor.  Over  the  altar  is  a  large  four-light  window,  with  stone  tracery  head,  having  on  each  side  a  single 
light  window  with  tracery  heads.  The  chancel  contains  stalls  for  fifty-four  choristers.  The  organ  is  located  on 
the  east  side  ol  the  chancel.  On  the  west  side  of  the  chancel  is  the  chapel,  with  room  for  75  persons.  The 
church  has  sittings  for  760  persons,  which,  on  special  occasions,  can  be  increased  to  1,000.  The  cost  is  $50,000. 
The  architect  is  Mr.  John  Sutcliffe  of  Chicago,  and  the  contractors  are  Hennessy  Brothers  and  Evans  Co., 
Chicago.  It  will  not  be  finished  but  will  be  ready  for  occupancy  early  in  the  winter  of  the  present  year.  The  first 
sod  was  turned  by  Mrs.  Borwell,  president  of  the  Parochial  Guild,  on  Wednesday,  September  10,  1898.  The 
spade  was  furnished  and  sod  cut  by  Mr.  F.  R.  Bagley,  president  of  the  Men's  Club. 


Nothing  sanctifies  a  place  more  than  the  memory  of  the  good 
men  and  women  who  have  lived  and  died  within  it.  The 
deeds  that  were  theirs,  the  words  that  they  uttered,  the  ob- 
jects they  pursued,  the  help  that  they  gave,  the  hope  they  in- 
spired, the  benefactions  they  made,  are  all  worthy  of  being 
treasured  up  and  handed  down  in  print  to  posterity.  In  a 
small  work  like  this  we  can  do  little  more  than  make  passing 
allusions  to  the  good  people  that  have  gone  before  us. 

*  *  # 

As  the  seed  is  sown  so  does  the  crop  grow  up  and  ripen. 
Oak  Park  was  fortunate  in  the  fact  that  its  first  settler  was  a 
good  man  and  his  wife  a  good  woman.  Other  good  men  and 
good  wome'n  were  attracted  here  by  the  reputation  of  the  ear- 
liest settlers;  they  added  something  to  the  general  welfare 
and  died  regretted.  In  alluding  to  those  worthies  we  can  have 
no  hesitation  in  placing  in  the  front  rank  the  first  father  and 
mother  of  the  town,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Kettlestrings.  They 
were  most  excellent  people  and  no  old  settler  speaks  of  them 
only  with  the  most  profound  respect.  In  business  affairs  Mr. 
Kettlestrings  was  ever  straightforward  and  honest.  He  was 
generous  to  a  fault  and  never  took  advantage  of  a  man  be- 
cause it  was  "a  business  matter."  Elsewhere  in  this  work  his 
pioneer  labors  are  described  so  far  as  our  limits  will  allow. 
Mr.  Kettlestrings  died  in  1883.  His  wife  soon  after  followed 
him  leaving  a  considerable  family  of  children  and  grandchil- 
dren. 

*  #  # 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Kettlestriiigs  were  the  parents  of 
eleven  children— four  sons  and  seven  daughters— only  four  of 
whom  are  now  living.  William  and  Ann  were  born  in  Eng- 
land. The  former  was  drowned  in  1850,  and  the  latter  died 
of  scarlet  fever,  at  the  age  of  14  years,  In  Chicago.  Hanna 


Prances,  the  third  child,  was  born  in  Cincinnati,  Oct.  3d,  1832, 
and  became  the  wife  of  Samuel  Dunlop,  Sept.  26,  1855,  who 
died  here  Aug.  11,  1883,  she  soon  after  following  him  to  the 
grave,  dying  Nov.  4,  1883.  The  first  child  born  in  Oak  Park 
was  Ellen  Kettlestrings,  the  date  of  her  birth  being  June  26, 
1835.  She  lived  only  thirteen  months  and  four  days.  Mary 
was  born  Dec.  13,  1836,  in  Oak  Park,  and  died  Aug.  12,  1844, 
in  Chicago. 

Joseph  Willis  was  born  in  Oak  Park,  July  19,  1838;  was 
married  March  26,  1865,  to  Mary  Louise  Whaples,  and  died  in 
Oak  Park,  Dec.  27,  1897.  Dora  Ellen  was  born  in  Oak  Park, 
Sept.  20,  1839;  was  married  to  O.  W.  Herrick,  Dec.  19,  1860, 
and  is  now  the  longest  living  resident  of  the  town.  Elizabeth 
Jane  was  born  Dec.  26,  1840;  was  married  to  Thomas  J.  Wors- 
wick,  December  26,  1864,  and  resides  at  436  Chicago  avenue, 
Oak  Park.  Thomas  Walter  was  born  in  Oak  Park,  July  19, 
1842,  and  died  Aug.  21,  1844.  Mary  Ann  was  born  in  Chicago, 
Feb.  2,  1845;  was  married  to  William  H.  Yorke,  May  1,  1873, 
and  resides  at  468  North  Kenilworth  avenue.  Walter  N.  was 
born  in  Chicago  Jan  24,  1849;  was  married  to  Rosemond  Caro- 
line Herrick,  Oct.  18,  1871,  and  resides  at  525  Marion  street. 


AUGUSTIN  PORTER. 

The  second  settler  entitled  to  favorable  mention,  who  is 
now  deceased,  and  left  his  impress  on  the  surrounding  neigh- 
borhood was  Augustin  Porter,  a  man  who  was  influential 
enough  in  public  matters  to  name  the  Township  of  Cicero  as 
well  as  the  adjoining  Township  of  Proviso.  He  was  a  public- 
spirited  man  with  an  expansive  mind  and  exercised  a  bene- 
ficial influence  in  his  day.  He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth Porter  Furbeck,  who  is  the  oldest  resident  member  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL   DEPARTMENT. 


OUR  DECEASED  WORTHIES. 


JOSEPH  KETTLESTRINGS  AND  WIFE 
100 


the  now  Oak  Park  Historical  Society.  lie  removed  here  from 
a  Proviso  farm  in  I860,  built  the  first  brick  residence  and 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  justice  of  the  peace.  So  far  as  his 
means  allowed  he  was  a  contributor  to  every  worthy  enter- 
prise that  made  a  demand  upon  him.  He  was  born  Aug.  20, 
1797,  at  Pompey,  Onondago  county,  N.  Y.,  the  same  place  that 
gave  birth  to  Jas.  W.  Scoville.  His  wife  was  Phebe  Maria 
Keeney,  a  very  superior  woman.  lie  came  to  Illinois  first  in 
1S35,  walking  nearly  all  the  way  through  Michigan  and  re- 
turning later  and  bringing  his  family.  After  spending  some 
time  in  Chicago  he  farmed  in  Dupage  county.  Then  he 
bought  a  farm  in  Proviso,  whence  lie  on  me  to  Harlem,  now 
Oak  Pnrk. 


AMOS  SQUIRE  PACK. 

This  gentleman  ranked  high  among  the  old  settlers.  He 
was  the  last  man  who  conducted  the  postoffice  under  the  name 
of  "Noyesville."  The  office  was  located  on  the  north  side  of 
Lake  street  in  the  first  block  west  of  the  old  church,  in  East 
River  Forest,  then  called  Harlem.  He  was  last  Senior  Warden 
of  Christ  Church,  Harlem,  and  the  first  Senior  Warden  of 
Grace  Church,  Oak  Park.  He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Chas. 
Roe  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Harvey.  He  was  a  native  of  Morristown, 
New  Jersey,  and  came  here  in  1860.  His  death  took  place  in 
December,  1882,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age,  and  he  was  buried 
in  Rose  Hill  cemetery. 


HENRY  W.  AUSTIN. 

One  of  the  active  men  who  exercised  a  fair  share  of  influ- 
ence here  was  Henry  W.  Austin.  He  came  in  October,  1859, 
and  built  a  residence,  the  grounds  of  which  are  yet  of  more 


AMOS  SQUIRE  PACK. 


than  usual  attraction  and  beauty.  He  was  engaged  in  the 
hardware  commission  business  In  Chicago  and  made  money. 
In  1866  he  purchased  of  the  De  Koven  brothers  the  farm  on 
which  he  started  the  village  of  Austinville,  two  miles  east  of 
Oak  Park,  and  which  has  now,  as  Austin,  outgrown  both  Oak 
Park  and  Ridgeland  in  population.  He  was  elected  to  the 
State  legislature  in  1870  and  introduced  the  bill  known  as 
the  West  Side  Park  Bill,  which  became  a  law  and  annexed  to 
Chicago  two  miles  wide  of  Cicero  territory.  He  also  pre- 
pared and  introduced  the  State  Temperance  bill,  which  went 
into  force  July  1, 1872.  In  1871  he  bought  out  the  two  or  three 
saloons  then  doing  business  in  Oak  Park  and  closed  up  the  sa- 
loon business  here  for  good,  having  a  guarantee  from  the  town 
board  that  no  more  saloon  licenses  would  be  issued. 

Mr.  Austin  was  a  native  of  Skaneateles,  Onondago  County. 
New  York,  where  he  was  born  Aug.  1,  1828.  His  early  pur- 
suits were  those  of  the  farm.  He  came  west  in  1858  and  en- 
tered the  hardware  business  in  Chicago  and  Kansas  City.  He 
also  established  a  live  stock  business  at  Colorado  Springs, 
Colo.,  in  1872.  He  was  married  Oct.  3.  1859,  to  Martha  Sophia 
Voorhees,  who,  although  an  invalid  for  many  years,  survived 
him,  but  died  in  1897,  much  regretted.  Mr.  Austin  died  sud- 
denly at  his  home  here  in  1894.  A  son  and  daughter  survive 
both,  occupying  the  family  homestead.  The  former  is  of  the 
same  name  as  his  father  and  is  engaged  in  the  real  estate  and 
banking  business;  the  daughter  is  named  Sophia,  and  Is  a 
most  amiable  and  estimable  woman,  and  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  T. 
Gardener  Morris. 


ville,  the  founder  of  the  Scoville  Institute.  He  first  saw  Oak 
Park  in  the  year  1848,  while  making  a  journey  on  foot  from 
Chicago  to  Beloit,  Wis.  There  were  not  then  more  than  one 


JAMES  W.  SCOVILLE.  or  two  houses  in  the  locality.    He  was  struck  with  the  beauty 

The  man  that  did  most  for  the  upbuilding  of  Oak  Park  and       of  the  place  and  while  resting  under  the  shade  of  a  fine  oak 

whose  memory  will  be  the  most  enduring  was  James  W.  Sco-      tree  that  occupied  the  elevated  spot  where  the  ScoviUe  Insti- 

102 


tute  now  stands  erect  in  its  classic  beauty,  he  vowed  if  he 
ever  had  the  means  he  would  purchase  the  ground  upon  which 
it  stood.  Six  months  later,  returning  by  stage  from  Beloit, 
he  found  that  the  Galena  Kailroad  (now  the  Northwestern) 
had  just  reached  the  Oak  Ridge  from  Chicago.  Taking  a 
freight  caboose  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  receive  passage  into 
the  city  on.  the  first  railroad  out  of  Chicago.  His  first  resi- 
dence here  was  in  the  year  1856.  In  1857  he  purchased  from 
Mr.  Kettlestrings  the  ground  that  he  coveted  and  built  a  fine 
family  residence  that  was  his  home  for  nearly  a  third  of  a 
century,  and  which  has  long  been  a  conspicuous  mark.  At 
this  time  his  business  interests  were  all  in  Chicago  and  he. 
was  frequently  the  only  morning  passenger  from  here  into  thej 
city  on  the  railroad. 

His  enterprises  in  Chicago  were  many  and  he  made  money 
rapidly.  In  1864  he  turned  his  attention  to  Cicero  property 
and  purchased  160  acres  of  land  situated  immediately  east  of 
Oak  Park  avenue.  This  he  ditched  and  drained  at  a  ^reat 
outlay  of  money,  and  laid  stone  sidewalks,  planted  trees  and 
graded  streets.  He  subsequently  purchased  more  property 
and  improved  it  in  the  same  locality,  and  Ridgeland  grew  into 
existence.  He  bought  and  built  also  in  Oak  Park  proper.  In 
3883  he  begun  building  his  water  works.  In  1885  he  planned 
the  Scoville  Institute  as  a  free  gift  to  the  town,  and  on  Oct. 
9,  1888,  he  beheld  its  dedication.  A  short  history  of  this  bene- 
faction is  given  elsewhere.  But  the  Scoville  Institute  was  not 
his  only  gift.  He  was  a  religious  man  and  greatly  devoted 
to  the  Interests  of  the  denomination  with  which  he  worship- 
ped. The  Congregational  church  of  Oak  Park,  alongside 
which  stands  the  Institute,  was  largely  contributed  to  by  him. 
The  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  of  which  he  was  a  direc- 
tor, frequently  felt  of  his  munificence,  and  for  the  Beloit 


(Wis.)  College  he  built  a  hall,  to  which  his  name  is  given,  at 
a  cost  to  him  of  $25,000.  This  building  was  dedicated  on  the 
25th  day  of  June,  1890. 

On  account  of  the  condition  of  his  wife's  health  Mr.  Scoville 
left  Oak  Park  in  1888  and  made  the  family  residence  at  Pasa- 
dena, Cal.,  himself  and  son,  C.  B.  Scoville,  making  frequent 
visits  to  Chicago  and  Oak  Park.  But  Mr.  Scoville's  good 
deeds  did  not  cease  with  his  removal  hence.  His  new  home 
soon  felt  the  effects  of  his  munificence,  and  his  contributions 
to  local  objects  were  numerous,  and  even  after  death  his  es- 
tate was  a  contributor  to  institutions  that  his  heart  favored, 
i notably  the  Scoville  Memorial  Library  of  Carleton  College, 
Northfield,  Minnesota,  for  which  his  family  donated  $25,000. 
James  Wilmarth  Scoville  was  a  native  of  Pompey,  Onon- 
daga  County,  New  York  State,  where  he  was  born  October  14, 
1825.  When  he  had  reached  his  twenty-first  year  he  entered 
the  Oneida  Conference  Academy,  not  far  distant  from  his 
home,  where  he  remained  but  a  short  time.  Afterwards  he 
taught  school  in  the  day  time  and  made  shoes  in  the  night 
time.  He  spent  two  years  at  Manlius  Academy.  In  1848  he 
turned  his  face  westward  and  visited  Chicago,  where  he  re- 
mained two  or  three  weeks  before  he  took  that  tramp  to  Be- 
loit and  became  enamored  of  the  Oak  Ridge  that  he  vowed  to 
to  Mary  A.  Huggins,  whose  people  then  lived  in  that  city, 
make  his  home  in  the  future.  After  a  while  he  returned  east 
and  worked  for  contractors  on  the  Erie  Canal  at  Fayetteville 
and  Buffalo.  He  was  married  In  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  28,  1853, 
In  the  fall  of  1856  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  secured  the  po- 
sition of  cashier  with  P.  W.  Gates  &  Co.,  Iron  manufacturers. 
Subsequently  he  entered  the  real  estate  business  there  and  laid 
the  foundation  of  his  large  fortune.  His  death  took  place  in 
Pasadena,  Cal.,  on  Aug.  5,  1893.  The  blow  came  quick  and 


suddenly,  and  the  regret  for  his  demise  was  great.  Memorial 
services  were  held  here  and  in  several  other  places.  His  wife 
and  son  survived  him,  but  the  partner  of  his  joys  and  sorrows 
has  since  joined  the  majority.  Mr.  Scoville's  memory  will  be 
ever  kept  green  in  Oak  Park. 


SAMUEL  DUNLOP. 

Among  Oak  Park's  deceased  worthies  there  is  one  whose 
name  is  held  in  profound  esteem  by  those  who  knew  him 
That  was  Samuel  Dunlop,  father  of  Simpson  and  Joseph  K. 
Dunlop,  real  estate  dealers  and  bankers,  and  husband  of  Mr. 
ami  Mrs.  Joseph  Kettlestrings'  eldest  daughter,  Hannah.  In 
May,  1862,  the  family  moved  to  Oak  Park  from  Chicago,  and 
Mr.  Dunlop's  ability  and  many  virtues  were  soon  recognized 
by  his  neighbors  and  fellow  citizens.  He  was  pre-eminently 
a  broad-gauge  man,  altogether  unselfish,  cordial  and  kind.  Mr. 
Dunlop  was  a  native  of  Belfast,  Ireland,  where  he  was  born 
June  2,  1824.  Iii  1830  his  parents  immigrated  to  New  York, 
where  they  resided  for  seven  years,  then  removed  to  Indian- 
apolis, where  Samuel  learned  the  trade  of  printer.  In  1849  he 
went  by  the  overland  route  to  California.  In  San  Francisco  he 
found  employment  for  some  time  at  his  trade  and  afterwards 
entered  into  a  copartnership  in  the  printing  business,  and  was 
successful.  He  returned  on  a  visit  to  his  family  at  Indian- 
apolis, and  going  back  to  San  Francisco  found  his  partners 
working  on  Sunday,  which  he  did  not  like,  and  left  the  con- 
cern. In  1852  he  found  his  way  to  Chicago  and  entered  into 
copartnership  with  Alfred  L.  Sewell  and  opened  a  printing 
office  at  138  Lake  street.  Afterwards,  in  1857,  J.  J.  Spalding 
was  admitted  to  the  firm,  the  style  then  becoming  IHinlop, 
Sewell  &  Spalding.  After  several  years  of  prosperous  exist- 
ence the  firm  was  dissolved,  when  Mr.  Dunlop  entered  into 


co-partnership  with  his  brother  and  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
dry  goods  and  notion  business.  At  the  time  of  the  big  fire, 
in  1871,  he  belonged  to  the  firm  of  Dunlop,  Reade  &  Brewster, 
which  was  burned  out.  In  1855  Mr.  Dunlop  married  Miss 
Kettlestrings,  and  in  1862  moved  hither.  He  died  Aug.  11, 
1883,  quite  suddenly,  in  front  of  his  residence  on  Grove  ave- 
nue. His  wife  survived  him  only  three  month^,  and  her 
father,  two  weeks  after  her,  expired  of  heart  disease.  The 
Dunlops  were  leading  members  of  the  Methodist  church,  as 
was  Mr.  Kettlestrings,  and  their  sudden  taking  off  was  a 
matter  of  profound  sorrow.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dunlop  left  five 
children  to  mourn  their  demise. 


R.  M.  LACKEY,  M.  D. 

Dr.  Lackey  was  not  an  early  comer  to  Oak  Park,  but  he  was 
a  man  of  distinction,  was  possessed  of  strong  sympathies  and 
made  many  friends.  He  commenced  practicing  medicine  here 
in  1880,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  1883.  He  was  born  in 
Harrison  county,  Ohio,  Dec.  1,  1835,  and  was  educated  at 
Franklin  College,  New  Athens.  In  1855  he  went  to  Kansas, 
then  a  territory,  and  lived  there  a  year  of  the  stormy  period 
of  its  political  existence.  He  came  to  Illinois  in  1856,  living 
»t  Freeport,  where  he  studied  medicine.  Afterwards  he  at- 
tended lectures  in  Chicago  and  Cincinnati,  graduating  at  Rush 
Medical  College  In  February,  1861.  Then  he  entered  the  army, 
acting  as  assistant  surgeon  to  the  Forty-second  Illinois  vol- 
unteer infantry,  and  was  subsequently  changed  to  other  regi- 
ments. In  December  of  1863,  he  was  promoted.  In  1864  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  as  one  of  the  corps  of 
staff  surgeons,  and  assigned  to  duty  in  the  department  of 
Arkansas  as  chief  medical  officer  of  the  staff  of  General  Sol- 
omon. Later  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  general  hospital 


at  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  where  he  served  until  mustered  out,  Nov. 
20,  1865,  and  breveted  captain  for  "faithful  and  meritorious 
service."  He  was  demonstrator  of  anatomy  in  Rush  Medical 
college  during  the  lecture  course  of  1866  and  1867.  His  war 
record  was  quite  brilliant.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Union 
Veteran  club,  of  Chicago,  and  George  H.  Thomas  Post,  G.  A. 
R.,  and  subsequently  Phil.  Sheridan  Post  No.  615,  G.  A.  R., 
of  Oak  Park.  He  was  man-led  in  February,  1866,  to  Miss 
Frances  A.  Hitchcock,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  A.  B.  Hitchcock, 
of  Moline,  one  of  the  pioneer  ministers  of  Illinois  and  Iowa. 
He  died  at  his  residence  in  Oak  Park,  April  31,  1895,  greatly 
and  deservedly  regretted,  as  he  was  always  a  friend  of  the 
soldier  as  well  as  of  the  poor.  He  left,  besides  his  widow, 
two  sons,  Robert  Allen,  born  November,  1868,  and  Charles 
Koland,  born  October,  1871.  Both  are  now  residing  here  in 
Oak  Park.  Since  her  husband's  death,  Mrs.  Lackey  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Oak  Park  school  board  and  resigned 
the  position  on  account  of  removal  to  California  for  her  health; 
but  she  is  now  here. 


T.  ANDREW  VOGT. 

For  a  period  of  thirty-eight  years  there  was  no  better 
known  man  in  Oak  Park  than  Andrew  Vogt.  He  came 
here  in  1856  and  served  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railroad 
Company  as  agent  for  27  years,  and  the  public  in  various  ca- 
pacities for  eleven  years.  He  was  born  in  Ulm,  South  Ger- 


many, in  the  year  1833.  He  left  his  native  home  at  the  age  of 
18  years  to  seek  his  fortune  in  America,  and  came  to  Oak  Park 
in  *1856,  where  he  was  married.  He  resigned  his  position  with 
the  railroad  company  in  1884  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  in 
the  insurance  business,  which  he  successfully  followed  until 
the  day  of  his  death,  having  the  agency  of  no  less  than  ten 
companies.  In  1885  he  was  elected  to  the  town  board  as  Col- 
lector, in  1886  as  Assessor;  and  during  the  period  of  1887-8  he 
filled  the  offices  of  Town  Superintendent  and  Captain  of  Police 
for  Cicero.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  of  Justice  of  the  Peace 
in  the  year  1891.  He  was  prominent  in  Masonic  circles  and  for 
25  years  filled  the  office  of  Secretary  for  Harlem  Lodge  A.  F.  & 
A.  M.  No.  540,  and  was  also  a  member  of  Siloam  Comn.andery 
No.  54,  Knights  Templar.  He  was  also  for  a  time  president  of 
a  German  benevolent  society  known  as  the  Krankenverein.  In 
politics  he  was  always  republican,  but  in  religion  he  was  at- 
tached to  no  denomination.  He  never  failed  to  faithfully  per- 
form any  duty  to  which  he  was  assigned  and  as  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Cicero  town  board  once  remarked,  "No  man 
ever  questioned  Andrew  Vogt's  motives."  He  was  an  exceed- 
ingly fair  man  in  every  relation.  His  residence  was  on  North 
Boulevard,  close  to  the  railroad  station. 

He  left  a  widow  who  now  resides  at  512  Meuomiuee  street, 
with  her  youngest  daughter;  also  three  sons  and  another 
daughter,  all  of  whom  are  married,  excepting  the  young  lady 
who  resides  with  her  mother. 


WORTHY  OLD  TIMERS. 


MRS.  MARGARET  JANE  WHAPLES, 

Whose  maiden  name  was  Spitzer,was  the  wife  of  Reuben  Wha- 
ples,  a  pioneer  of  Oak  Park  and  its  second  settler.    She  was 


born  Feb.  18,  1822,  at  Scloto,  Ohio.  She  came  to  Illinois  at  an 
early  date  with  her  parents.  She  was  married  to  Mr.  Wimples 
at  her  father's  house,  which  was  situated  on  a  farm  at  the 


head  of  the  "Little  Woods,"  near  the  Fox  river,  In  the  year 
1839. 

Mr.  Rueben  Whaples  was  born  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  In  the 
year  1800  and  came  to  Chicago  in  1838.  He  purchased  a  farm 
in  Du  Page  county  about  five  miles  southeast  of  Elgin,  111., 
where  he  lived  for  a  while  and  sold  out.  Thence  he  removed 
to  a  farm  In  Proviso  township  where  his  house  was  blown 
down  in  the  great  wind  of  April  21,  1845,  and  he  determined 
to  leave  the  locality,  selling  his  farm.  His  next  move  was 
to  purchase  a  farm  at  Kettlestrings'  Grove,  where  he  built  a 
large  and  substantial  log  house  on  the  corner  of  Lake  street 
and  Harlem  avenue,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  the 
fine  residence  of  Mr.  Christian  Schlund.  Here  he  resided  un- 
til the  year  1855  when  he  sold  his  land  to  Mr.  J.  H.  Quick 
and  went  to  live  in  a  vacant  hotel  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Desplaines  river  until  he  got  possession  of  a  farm  which  he 
had  purchased  at  Udina,  about  five  miles  west  of  Elgin.  The 
family  lived  there  about  a  year,  when  Mr.  Whaples  got  a 
good  offer  for  the  place  and  sold  out.  They  then  moved  back 
to  Kettlestrings',  Mr.  Whaples  purchasing  land  of  Mr.  Kettle- 
strings,  and  for  a  while  occupying  the  old  Kettlestrings  home- 
stead on  the  south  side  of  Lake  street,  near  Harlem  avenue. 
He  subsequently  built  a  good,  substantial  frame  house,  which 
is  now  the  manse  of  the  Presbyterian  church  on  Lake  street, 
.and  resided  there  until  his  death,  Oct.  20,  1865.  Mr.  Whaples 
was  a  very  enterprising  man  and  fond  of  speculation,  a  good 
neighbor  and  a  good  citizen.  He  was  a  tinner  by  trade. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whaples  were  the  parents  of  nine  children- 
six  girls  and  three  boys.  One  boy  died  when  two  and  a  half 
years  old;  the  rest  are  alive  and  married,  and  reside  in  or  near 


Oak  Park,  except  the  oldest  daughter,  Mrs.  J.  N.  Spickerinan, 
who  went  to  Kansas  with  her  husband,  but  now  resides  near 
Talala,  in  the  Indian  Territory.  The  second  daughter  married 
Joseph  Willis  Kettlestrings,  lately  deceased;  the  third  and 
fourth  daughters  are  the  wives  of  Mr.  Delos  Hull,  of  Oak 
Park,  and  Mr.  T.  M.  Hull,  of  Wheaton;  the  fifth  daughter  is 
the  wife  of  Mr.  W.  F.  Furbeck,  of  Oak  Park;  and  the  sixth 
daughter  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  John  Tope.  The  eldest  sou  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Elliot,  of  Kansas,  and  the  second  son  a  Miss  Raine. 
Mrs.  Whaples,  the  relict  of  the  pioneer,  is  now  in  her  77th 
year  and  enjoys  fairly  good  health,  although  her  memory  and 
hearing  are  not  the  best.  She  occupies  a  comfortable  home 
at  341  N.  Boulevard,  with  her  son,  George,  and  enjoys  visiting 
with  her  daughters  and  friends  who  reside  here.  It  is  53  years 
since  she  first  came  to  Oak  Park,  and  is  only  surpassed  in  long 
residence  by  Mrs.  O.  W.  Herrick,  who  was  born  here  in  1839. 


MILTON  CLEVELAND  NILES 

Was  born  in  Spencertown,  Columbia  county,  New  York 
State,  February  20,  1827.  He  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  day,  and  in  Academies  at  Great  Bar- 
rington.  and  Westfield,  Mass.  He  came  to  Chicago  and 
traveled  by  stage  and  the  Illinois  river  to  St.  Louis,  up  the 
Mississippi  to  Galena,  thence  by  stage  through  the  new  pros- 
perous towns  of  northern  Illinois,  to  Oak  Ridge,  now  Oak 
Park,  at  which  place  he  arrived  in  August,  1847.  He  returned 
to  New  York  and  in  March,  1848,  again  started  for  Illinois, 
traveling  by  "mud-wagon"  four  days  and  five  nights  through 
Canada,  and  by  stage  and  lake  to  Chicago;  and  again  through 
Oak  Park  to  Belvidere;  thence  through  the  pineries  of  Wiscon- 
sin, where  his  brother  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business. 

Returning  to  New  York  he  was  married  to  Mary  Caroline 
Bailey,  on  the  15th  day  of  May,  1848,  at  her  father's  home  In 


North  Salem,  Westchester  county,  New  York.  H;iving  seen  (lie 
opportunities  and  enterprise  of  the  then  new  West,  he  could 
not  remain  in  the  dull  East.  His  wife  cheerfully  joined  him  in 
the  enterprise  of  being  partial  pioneers  in  the  "Wild  West," 
and  in  the  fall  of  1852  they  settled  on  the  "Parsons  Farm," 


known  as  one  of  the  first  settlements  in  Du  Page  county,  22 
miles  from  Chicago. 

In  traveling  thence  by  wagon  to  Chicago,  the  way  was 
through  Oak  Ridge,  and  it  naturally  occurred  to  him  that  its 
proximity  to  the  city  made  it  a  good  place  for  investment.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  the  fall  of  185C  he  purchased  the  property  on 
Marion  street,  south  of  Lake  street,  with  the  east  frontage  op 


107 


Park  Place— ten  acres— and  in  the  spring  of  1858,  having  sold 
his  property  in  Du  Page  county,  he  came  with  his  wife,  daugh- 
ter and  two  sons  to  Oak  Ridge  to  live.  Having  children  to  edu- 
cate, and  realizing  the  increased  value  of  property  on  account 
of  educational  facilities,  in  1859  he,- with  the  late  J.  W.  Scoville 
and  Mr.  Flowers,  being  school  directors,  purchased  for  the  dis- 
trict the  east  half  of  the  present  central  school  grounds  and 
built  thereon  the  central  portion  of  the  building.  The  same 
year  he  built  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Hoard  now  lives  on  Ma- 
rion street  and  used  the  whole  block  as  his  residence  lot.  The 
same  year  Mr.  Niles  was  elected  Supervisor  of  the  Town  of 
Cicero  and  held  the  office  by  re-election  five  years,  and  acted 
as  chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  of  the  county  board 
during  the  rebellion. 

In  1863-64-65  he  purchased  that  part  of  the  Village  of  May- 
wood  lying  south  of  the  C.  &  N.  W.  R.  R.,  having  paid'  but  $20 
per  acre  for  the  first  160  acres;  and  in  1868  sold  the  360  acres 
to  the  Maywood  Company.  In  1865  and  1866  he  purchased  the 
40  acres  south  of  the  C.  &  N.  W.  R.  R.  depot,  in  Oak  Park, 
deeded  one-half  interest  in  snme  to  J.  W.  Scovillp,  nnd  they 
having  subdivided  It  as  Scoville  and  Nlles'  subdivision,  built 
the  first  four  houses  on  Maple  avenue  in  1867.  He  also  pur- 
chased the  49  acres  east  of  Home  avenue  and  between  the  C. 
&  N.  W.  R.  R.  and  Madison  street.  In  1864  he  built  the  house 
known  as  the  Park  House,  on  Marion  street,  using  the  block  as 
a  residence  lot.  Mr.  Niles  was  school  director  for  a  few  years 
in  the  early  days,  taking  great  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
same.  He  has  had  large  interests  in  manufacturing  and  in- 
vention. Has  been  a  liberal  patron  of  social  and  religious  move- 
ments, and  now.  in  1808.  after  a  residence  in  Oak  Park  of  40 
years,  and  having  passed  the  "golden  milestone"  in  married 
life,  with  a  family  no  link  of  which  has  been  broken,  he  should 
be  truly  grateful  for  these  unusual  allotments  of  Providence. 


ELIJAH  W.  HOARD. 

No  name  of  Oak  Park's  many  residents  is  better  known  than 
that  of  Elijah  W.  Hoard,  who  came  here  in  1864.    Mr.  Hoard 


was  born  in  Middleborougli,  Plymouth  county,  Massachusetts, 
September  9,  1812,  and  is  now  in  his  eighty-seventh  year,  and 
the  oldest  resident  of  the  town. 


The  desire  so  common  in  those  days  to  "go  West"  came  upon 
him  and  he  spent  several  years  in  western  localities  before  he 
came  to  Oak  Park  in  18C4,  and  entered  into  the  real  estate  busi- 
ness. He  bought  the  house  in  which  he  resides  on  Marion 
street  and  four  acres  of  land  of  Mr.  Sweet,  in  section  7  of  Skin- 
ner's subdivision,  but  the  house  was  originally  erected  by  Mi. 
M.  C.  Niles. 

In  1876  Mr.  i-I.  built  the  first  brick  business  block  in  the  town 
at  the  corner  of  Lake  and  Marion  streets,  the  dimensions  of 
which  are  50x82  feet,  four  stories  high.  The  cost  of  this  was 
$14,000.  In  this  building  is  the  first  public  hall  ever  provided 
in  Oak  Park,  and  in  its  top  story  is  the  hall  of  Siloam  Com- 
mandery,  No.  54,  Knights  Templar.  In  one  of  the  stores  in  this 
building  he  carried  on  a  grocery  store  for  several  years.  Mr. 
Hoard  served  as  school  trustee  for  the  township  of  Cicero,  in 
which  Oak  Park  is  situated,  for  several  years,  and  as  justice  bl 
the  peace  for  four  years.  In  politics  Mr.  H.  was  originally  a 
democrat,  and  gave  his  first  vote  for  president  to  Martin  Van 
Buren.  For  many  years,  however,  he  has  been  a  republican 
with  prohibition  tendencies.  He  is  a  member  of  Unity  church, 
and  the  first  meeting  to  organize  that  church  was  held  in  his 
house  on  the  1st  day  of  February,  1871. 

He  was  married  in  Chicago  to  Miss  Ellen  Gurley,  a  native  of 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  November  9,  1858.  The  lady  is  alive 
and  well  and  a  most  estimable  person,  beloved  by  all  who 
know  her. 

In  1891,  when  on  a  visit  with  his  wife  to  Florida,  Mr.  Hoard 
received  a  fall  that  has  lamed  him  ever  since  and  confined  him 
to  his  home,  yet  he  is  able  to  attend  to  his  business  affairs. 
He  is  remarkable  for  invariable  kindness  of  disposition  and 
serenity  of  mind,  and  there  is  no  better  neighbor.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hoard  have  no  children. 


ORIN  PEAK,  M.  D., 

Who  is  still  with  us,  was  an  early  settler  in  Oak  Park  and 
its  first  physician.    He  was  born  in  Bethel,  Windsor  county, 


Vermont,  March  22,  182C.  In  1829  his  parents  removed  to  Del- 
aware, Ohio,  and  he  removed'  with  them.  From  the  autumn  of 
1846  to  January,  1851,  he  was  engaged  as  teacher  among  the 
Choctaw  Indians,  west  of  Arkansas.  He  commenced  the  study 


of  medicine  in  Louisville,  liy.,  early  in  1851,  aiid  graduated  at 
Michigan  University  in  March,  1854,  and  in  September  of  that 
year  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Jefferson, 
Cook  county,  111.  From  January,  1855,  to  July,  1857,  he  filled 
the  office  of  county  physician.  On  October  1,  1861,  he  removed 
to  Kacine,  Wis.,  where  he  practiced  his  profession.  In  January, 
1863,  he  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Twentieth 
Wisconsin  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  in  August,  1864,  was  pro- 
moted to  surgeon.  After  the  war  he  settled  in  Oak  Park, 
where  he  practiced  medicine  and  subsequently  opened  the  first 
drug  store  in  the  place.  His  office  was  first  in  a  house  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  Lake  street  and  Forest  avenue,  where  the 
Methodist-Episcopal  Church  now  stands.  That  house  was  re- 
moved away.  He  then  built  a  house  at  135  Lake  street,  where 
Armbrust's  greenhouses  (about  to  be  removed)  now  stand.  In 
1873  he  built  the  handsomest  store  building  then  ou  Lake 
street,  and  continued  to  carry  on  his  drug  business  and  reside 
there  until  he  sold  out  to  Gale  &  Block!,  in  1885.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1873,  he  relinquished  the  practice  of  medicine  in  conse- 
quence of  an  injury  he  received  by  being  thrown  from  his 
buggy,  causing  concussion  of  the  brain.  Dr.  Peak  was  mar- 
ried first  in  1865  to  Miss  Emily  Boutwell,  who  died  in  1874; 
his  second  marriage  was  to  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Lewis,  sister  of  Mrs. 
Reuben  Whaples,  but  they  have  no  issue.  At  the  time  of  this 
publication  Dr.  Peak  is  able  to  be  well  about  but  he  attends  to 
no  particular  business. 


ORIGEN  W.  IIERRICK 

Is  an  active  man  and  a  prominent  "Old  Timer."  He  came  to 
Oak  Park  first  on  a  visit  to  his  relative,  J.  W.  Scoville, 
in  the  summer  of  1859.  He  taught  the  public  school  for  five 
years,  served  as  our  first  postmaster  and  as  a  member  of  the 
town  board.  He  was  married  to  Dora  E.  Kettlestrings  (now 


the  longest  resident  inhabitant  of  the  town),  in  December,  1860. 
He  is  engaged  in  the  insurance  business  in  Chicago  with  Mr.  E. 
W.  Lyman.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  Church  and 
belongs  to  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows'  lodges.  He  is  a  native 
of  Onondago  county,  New  York,  and  came  West  in  1859,  re- 
maining in  Oak  Park,  and  assisting  In  its  development  and 
growth.  He  occupies  a  fine  residence  at  307  North  Oak  Park 
avenue. 


EDWARD  F.  ROBBINS, 

An  old  citizen,  is  not  a  very  "old  timer,"  as  he  did  not  come 
to  Oak  Park  till  September,  1872.  But  he  is  a  venerable 
and  highly  esteemed  old  gentleman  who  is  still  "in  the 
harness,"  making  or  repairing  harness,  and  is  the  pioneer  har- 
nessmaker  of  Oak  Park.  For  a  time  he  had  Mr.  J.  J.  Brown  as 
an  apprentice  and  afterwards  as  a  partner.  He  resides  at 
Ridgeland  with  three  of  his  daughters.  He  was  elected  justice 
of  the  peace  in  May,  1880,  but  resigned  the  office  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1883.  He  was  born  in  New  York  city.  June  20, 
1816,  and  did  business  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  other  places  for 
many  years  before  coming  West.  He  is  now  in  his  eighty-third 
year. 


FRED  J.  KNOT! 

Is  an  "old  timer"  and  was  here  before  1871.  His  place  of 
birth  is  Leicester,  England.  He  came  to  this  state  with  his 
father  in  the  year  1849,  residing  first  for  a  year  in  Chicago.  In 
Elgin  he  was  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  with  his  father, 
who  was  a  leading  merchant  of  the  place,  and  acted  as  local 
agent  for  several  insurance  companies.  In  the  year  1867  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  Oak  Park,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
identified  with  insurance  interests,  holding  responsible  posi- 
tions with  prominent  companies, 


PROMINENT  BUSINESS  AND  PROFESSIONAL  MEN. 


EDWIN  S.  CONWAY 

Is   a   man    among    men.     He    took  up  Irs  residence  in  Oak 
Park,  where  he  has  a  fine  home  at  226  Maple  avenue,  in  the 


yt-ar  1875.  He  is  secretary  and  general  superintendent  of  the 
great  W.  W.  Klmball  Piano  and  Organ  Company  of  Chicago, 
a  company  which  Is  now  the  most  extensive  of  its  kind  In  the 
world,  and  whose  instruments  go  out  to  all  lands.  He  is  a 
native  of  Ontario,  Canada,  (his  parents  having  moved  there 
from  Syracuse,  N.  Y.)  where  he  was  horn  in  the  year  1850, 
when  he  was  very  young,  removing  to  Pepin  county, 
Wis.,  and  two  years  later  to  Lake  City,  Minn.  In  1869  he  be- 
came first  associated  with  Mr.  W.  W.  Klmball,  as  an  agent 
for  his  musical  instruments.  In  1875  he  came  to  Chicago  and 
was  given  charge  of  the  wholesale  department  of  Mr.  Kim- 
ball's  business.  It  was  then  that  he  came  here  with  his  family. 
In  the  year  1882,  the  business  was  formed  into  a  stock  com- 
pany, at  which  time  Mr.  Conway  was  given  an  interest  in.  it 
and  appointed  to  his  present  position.  Since  then  the  business 
has  gi-own  amazingly  and  now  has  agencies  in  all  parts  of  the 
globe,  which  are  under  his  superintendence,  and  he  is  neces- 
sitated to  be  frequently  absent  visiting  them.  The  factory 
in  Chicago  now  employs  no  less  than  1,325  hands  and  the  num- 
ber is  soon  to  be  greatly  increased,  as  a  great  addition  to  the 
factory  Is  now  in  course  of  construction. 

But  Mr.  Conway  Is  many-sided  and  has  given  his  attention 
to  other  things  besides  pianos  and  organs.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Cicero  Board  of  Trustees  in  1882  and  was 
chosen  president  of  the  same  in  April,  1883,  and  continued  in 
that  capacity  until  his  regie-nation  in  l?88.-on  account  of  the 
pressure  of  other  affairs  and  for  reasons  that  were  of  a  do- 
mestic nature.  For  two  or  three  years  he  wns  engaged  in  a 


116 


couple  of  railroad  projects,  and  is  yet  Interested  somewhat  in 
an  Iowa  line.  He  took  a  hand  in  real  estate,  and  Conway  Park 
in  River  Forest  Is  the  result.  After  the  departure  of  Mr.  Sco- 
ville  to  California  he  became  the  president  of  the  Cicero  Wa- 
ter, Gas  &  Electric  Light  Company,  and  continued  in  that 
capacity,  rendering  gratuitous  service,  until  the  company  sold 
out  last  year  to  strangers.  From  the  date  of  its  institution 
Mr.  Conway  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Fcov  ll->  Institute. 
He  is  one  of  the  founders  of  Cicero  Lodge  No.  217  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  is  one  of  the  most  prom- 
inent members  of  the  order  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Sov- 
ereign Grand  Lodge,  to  which  he  is  the  Grand  Representative 
from  this  state  and  chairman  of  its  finance  committee.  He  is 
one  of  the  principal  promoters  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Orphan's 
Home  at  Lincoln,  and  of  the  Old  Folks'  Home,  now  in  course 
of  erection  at  Mattoon. 

There  never  was  a  local  object  or  organization  in  Oak  Park 
that  his  generous  desire  was  not  outstretched  to  help,  the  new 
Historical  Society  being  the  latest  subject  of  his  attention  and 
membership. 

He  and  his  family  hold  communion  with  the  Baptist  Church 
in  Oak  Park  and  have  been  members  of  it  almost  since  its  or- 
ganization. 

In  Chicago  Mr.  Conway  holds  membership  in  the  Union 
League  Club  and  the  Athletic  Club,  and  he  is  some'hiug  of  an 
athlete,  too.  :  ^  *  ' 

All  human  affairs  have  for  him  an  interest,  and  love  of 
country  has  an  especial  hold  upon  him.  He  traveled  four 
months  in  Europe  last  winter  and  spring  with  his  wife  and 
daughter,  and  returned  home  with  the  conviction  strong  upon 
him  that  there  was  no  country  like  America.  He  is  an  ardent 
republican  and  is  high  up  In  the  councils  of  his  party.  Fre- 


quently he  has  been  urged  for  office— for  congressman,  for  gov- 
ernor and  even  United  States  senator— but  has  always  de- 
clined; not  but  what  he  has  the  ambition,  but  he  has  always 
felt  that  the  great  business  with  which  he  is  identified  has  a 
prior  claim  to  his  time  and  attention. 

Mr.  Conway  is  happy  in  his  family  relations.  He  was  mar- 
ried Dec.  25,  1871,  to  Miss  Sarah  Rogers,  of  Mansion,  Wis.,  an 
r.ccomplished  and  most  worthy  lady.  They  have  two  sons  and 
one  daughter:  Earle  E.  has  grown  to  man's  estate  and  is  a 
successful  traveling  agent  for  tlie  Kimball  Company;  Carle  C. 
is  a  student  at  Yale;  and  Sybil  Sara  is  a  young  lady  who 
graces  Oak  Park  society,  but  is  now  at  school  at  Monti- olio, 


EDMUND   A.   CUMMINGS 

Is  a  wonderful  man  of  affairs.  He  was  taught  to  say  his 
prayers  in  his  youth,  but  if  he  says  them  now  the  wonder  must 
be  how  he  gets  the  time.  He  is  a  resident  of  Oak  Park.  He 
is  not  an  old  man  by  any  means,  but  his  experience  is  wide 
and  varied.  He  was  born  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  Nov.  29,  1842,  and 
is  therefore  in  his  56th  year.  He  has  risen  from  "printer's 
devil"  to  be  a  real  estate  and  transportation  baron. 

He  came  West  with  his  parents  in  the  year  1855  and  settled 
at  Elgin,  111.,  where  he  resided  until  about  1860.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Chicago  and  at  the  Elgin 
Academy. 

His  first  employment  was  as  apprentice  in  the  office  of  the 
Elgin  Gazette,  which  he  entered  at  the  age  of  16.  After  serv- 
ing an  apprenticeship  there  he  went  East  and  engaged  on  the 
Vermont  Journal  at  Windsor,  Vt.,  as  local  editor.  That  was 
then  the  leading  paper  of  that  state.  In  1862  he  returned  to 
Illinois  and  enlisted  in  the  127th  Infantry,  serving  throughout 


tlu  war.  Ho  followed  the  (lag  into  Vicksburg,  was  at  Mission- 
ary Ridge  and  participated  In  the  memorable  march  to  the  sea. 
At  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1865,  he  returned  to  Chicago  and 


entered  the  office  of  S.  M.  Moore,  who  at  that  time  was  con- 
ducting an  insurance  business  under  the  name  of  Moore  & 
Stearns.  Soon  after  a  real  estate  branch  of  the  business  was 


opened,  to  which  Mr.  C.  was  admitted  as  a  partner,  and  in 
1S77  became  the  head  of  the  flrm,  then  and  since  known  as  E. 
A.  Cummings  &  Co.,  and  as  one  of  the  leading  real  estate  firms 
of  Chicago. 

Mr.  C.  was  the  principal  promoter  of  this  Cicero  &  Proviso 
Electric  Street  Railroad  Company  and  also  of  the  Ogden  line 
in  the  town  of  Cicero,  with  tracks  and  trollies  in  a  number  of 
streets. 

He  is  president  of  the  Union  and  State  Construction  Com- 
panies and  director  in  the  Security  Title  and  Trust  Compiny. 
Ho  is  a  trustee  of  the  Proviso  and  Union  Land  and  Building 
Associations,  who  o\vn  large  tracts  of  land  in  Maywood  and 
its  vicinity.  He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Chicago  Real 
Estate  Board  and  Its  third  president.  Mr.  Cummings  and  h:s 
tirin  own  land  all  over  Chicago  and  suburbs  anl  he  1<  said  10 
be  worth  a  cool  million. 

Mr.  ('iimmii)gs'  home  is  at  241  North  Lornb  ml  av  mi-, 
where  he  has  resided  since  1873.  and  enjoys  an  elegant  he  me- 
stead.  His  domestic  relations  are  pleasant  and  there  is  no 
more  respected  lady  than  Mrs.  Cummings.  Their  children  are 
all  full  grown,  with  two  sons  and  one  married  daughter. 

HENRY  D.  PIERCE. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  came  to  Oak  Park  from  Toledo, 
Ohio,  :n  1880.  No  man  ever  gained  the  good  will  of  the  people 
in  shorter  time.  He  is  popular,  proved  and  trusted.  He  has 
been  president  of  the  Town  of  Cicero  for  two  years  and  Is 
now  president  of  the  Oak  Park  School  board.  Being  a  man 
of  capacity  and  considerable  ambition,  and  not  yet  too  old. 
there  is  no  telling  what  the  future  has  in  store  for  him.  < 

Henry  T>.  Pierce  is  a  native  of  the  Green  Mountain  State. 
He  was  born  in  Cavendish,  Vermont,  May  26,  1846.  His  early 
education  was  neglected  but  he  made  up  for  this  in  after 


years.  At,  the  age  of  18  he  enlisted  In  the  Seventh  Vermont 
Veteran  Volunteer  regiment,  Aug.  16,  1864,  and  was  stationed 
!n  New  Orleans,  La.,  until  the  spring  of  1865.  He  participated 
In  the  battles  of  Spanish  Fort,  Mobile,  etc..  went  with  his  regi- 
ment to  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande,  Texas,  remaining  there 
unti1  mustered  out  in  July,  1865. 

Returning  to  his  native  state  he  attended  school  at  home  for 
a  time;  then  he  entered  Newberry  Seminary,  at  Newberry,  Vt., 
and  ntted  himself  for  college.  He  entered  Dartmouth  Collego 
in  the  fall  of  1868,  and  was  graduated  in  1872.  Then  he  came 
West  and  was  made  principal  of  the  Toledo  High  School,  in 
Toledo,  Ohio,  •which  position  he  filled  from  the  fall  of  1872  to 
February.  1875,  when  he  resigned  the  position  to  become  man- 
ager of  the  Toledo  Marble  Company,  a  branch  of  the  Vermont 
Marble  Company  of  Proctor,  Vermont.  For  four  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Toledo  Board  of  Education,  resigning  when 
he  came  West. 

In  1882  he  established  branches  for  this  Company  at  Detroit.. 
Cincinnati  and  Cleveland,  and  had  general  charge  of  them  :ill 
unt'i  the  year  3S89,  when  he  was  placed  in  charge,  as  man- 
ager, of  the  Western  Branch  of  the  Vermont  Marble  Company 
nt  Chicago,  taking  up  his  residence  in  Oak  Park. 

In  Oak  Park  he  scon  became  a  man  of  mark  whose  opin'on 
was  frequently  consulted,  and  his  popularity  became  more  pro- 
nounced every  day.  In  1895  he  was  nominated  on  an  indepen- 
dent ticket  for  president  of  the  town  of  Cicero,  and  was  elect- 
ed. In  1896  he  was  placed  on  the  Republican  town  ticket  for 
the  same  office  and  was  triumphantly  e'ected.  In  fie  capacity 
of  town  president  he  was  wonderfully  successful,  being 
chlelly  instrumental  in  extricating  the  town  from  great  finan- 
cial embarrassment.  He  succeeded  in  collecting  $20,000  from 
the  C.  B.  &  Q.  railroad  for  the  viaduct  over  Robinson  avenue; 


$10,000  forfeited  by  the  Lake  Street  Elevated  railroad  for  fail- 
ure to  construct  extension;  got  judgment  against  the  city  of 
Chicago  for  $50,000,  due  on  annexation  award,  and  sold  the 


judgment  to  F.  A.  Hill  for  $43,000,  thus  providing  the  town 
with  much-needed  funds.  It  was  during  President  Pierce's 
administration  that  a  5  cent  fare  was  secured  for  the  people  of 


Cicero  over  the  Northern  Pacific  suburban  line  into  the  Grand 
Central  depot  in  Chicago.  That  advantage  was  abolished  on 
the  road  dropping  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Yerkes  last  fall,  but 
a  suit  is  pending  to  compel  its  restoration.  Mr.  Pierce  was 
strongly  urged  to  run  for  another  term  as  supervisor  of  the 
town,  but  he  declined. 

Last  spring  Mr.  Pierce  was  elected  president  of  the  Oak 
Park  school  board,  where  his  long  experience  of  school  mat- 
ters has  rendered  his  services  of  great  value. 

He  is  president  of  the  Dartmouth  College  Alumni  Associa- 
tion of  Chicago  and  vicinity,  which  numbers  about  150  mem- 
bers. He  is  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church  and  is  a  ves- 
tryman of  Grace  Episcopal  Church,  Oak  Park. 

Mr.  Pierce  was  married  in  the  year  1874  in  Toledo,  Ohio, 
to  Miss  Mary  E.  Hill,  of  Toledo.  They  have  two  children  liv- 
ing, a  daughter  and  a  son,  both  well  grown,  the  latter,  Harry, 
being  a  student  in  the  High  School.  The  place  of  the  family 
residence  is  133  South  Grove  avenue. 


OSCAR  D.  ALLEN 

Was  born  at  Pierrepont  Manor,  N.  Y.,  June  1,  1833,  and 
lived  there  until  the  year  1866.  In  his  youth  he  attended  the 
district  public  school  and  Union  Academy  at  Belleville,  N.  Y. 
He  engaged  in  merchandising  in  his  native  place  before  at- 
taining his  majority,  keeping  a  country  store  until  1863,  when 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  seek  out  of  doors  employment; 
and  for  some  time  he  was  engaged  In  the  live  stock  trade  be- 
tween Canada  and  the  states.  Having  regained  his  health  in 
1866  he  engaged  in  the  dry  goods  and  clothing  trade  In  Adams. 
N.  Y. 

After  five  years  of  successful  business  in  Adams,  fearing  the 
effects  of  further  confinement  in  a  store,  he  sold  his  Interest 


in  Adams  and  came  to  Chicago  to  visit  his  father-in-law,  the 
late  Nathan  T.  Holley,  who  had  become  a  resident  of  Oak 
Park.  While  here  he  became  interested  with  Messrs.  Holley 
&  Smith  in  a  purchase  of  real  estate,  and  in  1872  moved  his 
family  Into  the  house  he  has  ever  since  occupied  at  432  Lake 


street.    For  several  years  he  was  actively  engaged  In  the  grain 
trade  and  is  a  member  of  the  Chicago  Bo;>rd  of  Tr;ide. 

In  politics  Mr.  Allen  is  and  ever  has  been  a  republican,  cast- 
ing his  first  presidential  vote  for  John  C.  Fremont,  in  1856.  and 
since  that  time  for  every  Republican  nominee  for  that  office. 
He  has  been  honored  by  his  townsmen  by  being  elected  to  of- 


flees  of  responsibility.  He  held  the  office  of  postmaster  at 
Pierrepont  Manor,  N.  Y.,  and  was  Deputy  Collector  of  Internal 
revenue  under  the  administration  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  He 
uas  elected  supervisor  of  the  town  of  Adams,  New  York,  but 
came  to  Oak  Park  before  the  expiration  of  his  term.  In  1879, 
during  his  absence  from  the  state  he  was  elected  trustee  of 
schools  for  the  town  of  Cicero,  and  served  in  that  capacity  nine 
years.  In  1888  he  was  elected  president  of  the  town,  being  the 
first  president  of  the  town  elected  by  the  people.  In  1889  he 
was  elected  to  the  office  of  County  Commissioner  and  has  been 
re-elected  five  times  successively. 

Mr.  Allen  was  married  in  185C  to  Augusta  B.  Holley.  Four 
children,  have  been  born  to  them,  two  of  whom  are  living,  viz.. 
Mrs.  Geo.  M.  Woodward  and  Miss  Grace  H.  Allen. 

Mr.  Allen  was  selected  by  the  late  J.  W.  Scoville  as  one  of 
the-  trustees  of  Scoville  Institute  and  has  served  the  board  as 
vice  president,  librarian  and  treasurer.  He  is  a  member  of 
Harlem  Lodge  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  has  served  as  W.  M.  and  trea- 
surer. Himself  and  family  are  members  of  the  First  Congre- 
gational Church,  where  for  eighteen  years  he  served  as  one  of 
I  lie  trustees. 


JESSE  A.  BALDWIN 

Has  been  a  resident  of  Cak  Park  for  th;-  past  twelve  years. 
He  Is  an  attorney  of  great  ability  and  wide  reputation.  With 
a  vigorous  mind  and  a  robust  body  he  is  a  remarkable  worker, 
and  devotes  to  every  cause  he  tries  his  fullest  capabilities  with 
the  most  untiring  energy.  He  is  a  native  of  Greenwood,  Mo- 
Henry  county,  this  state,  and  was  born  August  9,  1854.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  common  school  of  his  native 
place.  He  studied  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  April, 
1879,  since  which  he  has  had  a  most  successful  career.  His 


first  appointment  was  that  of  Assistant  United  States  Attor- 
ney at  Chicago.  That  office  he  resigned  in  1883  to  take  up  pri- 
vate practice,  in  which  lie  had  associated  with  him  his  brother. 


Henry  R.  Baldwin.    He  is  in  Chicago  a  member  of  the  Union 
League  and  Hamilton  clubs,  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the 


Chicago  University  and  a  trustee  of  Rush  Medical  College.  In 
Cicero  lie  tilled  the  office  ot  Town  Aiioruey  lor  one  year,  declin- 
ing to  longer  hold  the  office;  he  was  president  of  the  Oak  Park 
Board  of  Education  for  four  years,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Scoville  Institute.  Honors  have  come 
to  him  unsought.  The  law  firm  of  Baldwin  &  Baldwin  ranks 
very,  high  and  has  an  extensive  general  practice  in  all  the 
courts. 

Mr.  Baldwin's  domestic  relations  are  most  happy.  He  was 
married  January  29,  1879,  to  Miss  Fannie  M.  Benton,  and  is  the 
father  of  four  children.  He  occupies  a  handsome  residence  of 
his  own  at  341  Pleasant  street.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  to  which  he  is  much  devoted.  His  law  office  is  at  708 
Reaper  block,  Chicago.  Oak  Park  is  justly  proud  of  her  dis- 
tinguished citizen. 


ruary  13,  180:i,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Keed,  by  whom  he  has  had 
one  son  and  three  daughters.  The  former,  Henry  R.  Pebbles, 
is  a  practicing  lawyer,  who  held  the  position  of  town  attorney 


ALONZO  W.  PEBBLES. 

The  oldest  of  all  the  establishments  located  in  the  Oak  Park 
business  district  on  Lake  street,  is  that  of  A.  W.  &  S.  E.  Peb- 
bles, the  senior  member  of  which  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
Mr.  Pebbles  conies  of  revolutionary  stock  and  was  born  in 
Wyoming  county,  New  York,  in  1842.  When  <inite  young  his 
parents  moved  to  Wisconsin  and  in  that  state  lie  grew  to  man- 
hood. In  1866,  Mr.  Pebbles  located  at  Oak  Park  and  three 
years  later  established  the  painting,  paper  lian.irng  and  decor- 
ating business,  in  the  conduct  of  which  ho  is  still  actively  en- 
gaged at  144  Lake  street.  Samuel  Ei:g>ne  Pebbles,  his  brother, 
who  was  for  many  years  a  partner  in  the  concern,  died  on 
May  15,  1898,  his  interest  being  now  owned  by  his  widow. 
The  firm  of  A.  W.  &  S.  E.  Pebbles  has  always  done  an  exten- 
sive and  lucrative  business,  and  employs  more  lal  or  than  any 
other  private  concern  in  the  village. 

Mr.  Pebbles  was  married  at  Beaver  Dam,  Wisconsin,  Feb- 


in  1894.  1895  and  1890,  while  the  surviving  daughters  are  Jes- 
sie P.  Ingalls,  wife  of  Robert  S.  Ingalls,  and  Margaret  C.  Peb- 
bles. The  third  daughter,  Emily  Louise,  wife  of  Charles  P. 


Miller,  died   in    the    year  1896.    Frank  M.  Pebbles,  the  well 
known  portrait  artist  who  resides  here,  is  his  brother. 

No  man  is  more  highly  appreciated  in  the  business  com- 
munity for  his  many  merits.  He  was  elected  to  the  Cicero 
Town  Board  in  1883  and  again  in  1884.  The  following  year 
he  declined  the  iiouiiuation  for  business  reasons.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  masonic  fraternity  and  of  Grace  Episcopal  Churcli. 


FRED  A.  HILL 

Is  not  a  resident  of  Oak  Park,  but  of  Ai  stin;  but  he  is  a 
contributor  to  Oak  Park's  progress  and  welfare  as  a  house- 
builder  and  home  provider.  He  is  a  typical  western  man  full 
o'  vim  and  daring.  He  is  an  active  worker  in  furtherance  of 
ali  improvements  for  the  good  of  the  town  and  much  credit 
for  building  up  and  beautifying  Austin  and  Oak  Park  Is  due 
to  his  energetic  efforts. 

During  the  past  five  years  he  has  built  in  the  two  towns  up- 
wards of  150  houses  and  has  put  in  several  miles  of  streets 
and  stone  walk  in  his  five  subdivisions.  He  has  at  present  ten 
modern  houses  ready  for  sale,  varying  in  price  from  $5,000  to 
$30,000,  built  to  accommodate  the  constantly  increasing  de- 
mand for  suburban  residences,  with  cheap  transportation  and 
all  the  comforts  of  life  at  hand,  and  free  from  the  contamina- 
tion of  saloons  and  demoralizing  influences.  The  schools  of 
Oak  Park  and  Austin  are  among  the  best  to  be  found  any- 
where. Churches,  societies,  literary  institutions  and  organi- 
zations of  men,  women  and  children  abound,  and  no  matter 
what  a  man  or  woman's  religious  belief  may  be,  they  have 
here  the  most  perfect  freedom  of  worship  and  association.  One 
of  the  most  practical  reasons  why  it  is  desirable  to  seek  a 
home  in  Oak  Park  or  Austin  is  the  fact  that  property,  owing 
to  the  great  number  of  improvements  constantly  being  made, 
is  steadily  Increasing  in  value. 

Mr.  H111  Is  a  native  of  Chicago  and  possesses  the  business 


vim  that  is  characteristic  of  the  men  of  the  great  western  me- 
tropolis. He  was  born  on  the  24th  day  of  February,  18(52.  ami 
is  therefore  In  his  37th  year.  He  removed  to  Austin  in  1881 
and  was  married  to  Miss  Marie  Bartelme  of  that  place  in  1886. 


He  is  the  father  of  two  children-the  eldest  a  boy  aged  10 
years,  and  the  youngest  a  girl  of  7.  Mr.  Hill  now  resides  with 
his  family  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Washington  Boulevard 
and  Central  avenue,  Austin. 


NORMAN  S.  1'ATTON,  ARCHITECT. 

When  the  trustees  of  the  Scoville  Institute  sought  to  carry 

out  the  purpose  of  the  donor  in  the  erection  of  a  building,  they 


first  secured  competitive  designs  from  six  of  the  leading  archi- 
tects of  Chicago.  None  of  these  designs,  however,  met  the 
approval  of  a  majority  and  the  trustees  made  Mr.  Scoville  a 


committee  of  one  to  secure  a  new  design.  Acting  on  this  au- 
thority Mr.  Scoville  presented  a  design  which  met  wiih  tli  • 
unanimous  approval  of  the  trustees  and  which  since  its  trans- 
lation into  substantial  form  has  met  the  approval  of  the  pub- 
lic of  Oak  Park.  Not  until  after  the  selection  of  the  design 
did  Mr.  Scoville  reveal  the  name  of  the  author,  Mr.  Normand 
S.  Patton,  a  young  architect  of  Chicago.  During  the  erection 
of  the  Scoville  Institute  Mr.  Patton  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Oak  Park  and  in  1888  he  removed  here  with  his  family. 

Mr.  Patton  was  born  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  1852,  but  was 
brought  to  Chicago  in  1857  by  his  father,  Rev.  Wm.  W.  Pat- 
ton,  D.  D.,  who  became  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  and  afterwards  the  founder  and  first  editor  of  the 
"Advance"  newspaper. 

After  a  general  education  in  the  Chicago  public  schools  and 
a  full  course  in  Amherst  College,  Mr.  Normand  Patton  com- 
menced his  professional  career  by  a  course  in  architecture  at 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology.  After  a  few  years 
experience  as  a  draughtsman  in  Chicago,  Mr.  Patton  went  to 
Washington,  D.  C.,  where  for  several  years  he  held  an  im- 
portant position  in  the  office  of  the  supervising  architect  of  the 
Treasury  Department.  Resigning  this  position  to  travel  and 
study  in  Europe  he  returned  for  a  short  time  to  Washington 
and  then  to  Chicago,  where  he  opened  an  office  as  an  architect 
in  1883. 

Before  the  completion  of  the  Scoville  Institute  Mr.  Patton 
took  into  partnership  Mr.  Reynolds  Fisher,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Patton  &  Fisher.  The  work  of  this  firm  is  known  in 
Oak  Park  by  the  remodeling  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  the  Second  Congregational  Church,  Wm.  Bey  school, 
Gas  Company's  office  building,  Seoville's  business  block  and 
numerous  residences.  The  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences  in 


119 


Lincoln  Park  is  sufficient  (o  mark  the  work  of  this  firm  as 
unsurpassed  in  Chicago  and  numerous  libraries,  colleges, 
schools,  churches,  etc.,  in  many  states,  an-  witnesses  <>(  a  well 
deserved  reputation. 

The  distinguished  work  done  by  Mr.  I'atton  in  school  and 
other  educational  buildings  led  to  his  election  in  1896  as  I  lie 
architect  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  Chicago,  in  which  ca- 
pacity he  now  plans  all  the  public  school  buildings  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Patton,  while  conducting  an  independent  otlice  for  the 
Board  of  Education,  still  retains  his  connection  with  f.ie  )i  :n. 
which  has  recently  been  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  Mr. 
(.'rant  C.  Miller,  and  is  now  known  as  Patton,  Fisher  &  Miller. 
Mr.  Patton  has  been  active  in  many  ways  outside  of  his  pro- 
fession, having  held  the  presidency  of  the  Chicago  Congrega- 
tional Club.  As  the  founder  and  president  of  the  Chicago 
Municipal  Improvement  League,  he  led  the  movement  that  s .-- 
cured  the  Lake  Front  park  to  Chicago,  ami  was  the  first  t.> 
srggest  to  the  public  the  necessity  for  a  great  park  along  the 
Desplaines  river. 

Mr.  Patton  resides  at  225  North  Grove  avenue.  lie  is  mar- 
ried and  the  head  of  a  happy  family. 


CHAS.  F.  DRECIISLKR. 
Oak  Park  can  claim  among  its  many  ct 
sessions  a  number  of  successful  business  m 
of  these  is  Mr.  Charles  F.  Drechsler,  the  v 
taker  and  furniture  dealer.  He  was  born  ai 
ucation  in  this  neighborhood,  and  his  frier 


tier  valuable  pos 
?n.  Not  the  Itasi 
•ell  known  under- 
d  received  his  ed- 
as  and  associates 


have  good  reason  to  feel  proud  of  his  success. 

He  entered  the  employment  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Senne,  some  four- 
teen years  ago,  and  by  his  energy  and  strict  attention  to  bus- 
iness won  his  employer's  favor  and  confidence.  The  business 
continued  to  grow  at  the  old  Senne  stand,  105  Lake  street,  to 


such  an  extent  that  the  premises  became  altogether  loo  small 
and  cramped,  and  in  1889  Mr.  Senne,  in  conjunction  with  a 
couple  of  his  neighbors,  erected  a  block  of  four  fine  three-story 
brick  stores;  two  of  which  wore  Senne' s  property.  Into  these 


tlit,  business  was  removed,  and  it  prospered  amazingly,  with 
Mr.  Drechsler  as  Mr.  Senne's  able  assistant.  In  July  1,  1894, 
Mr.  Drechsler  became  the  proprietor  of  the  concern.  The  re- 
sponsibility he  assumed  was  very  great  for  so  young  a  man. 


but  he  faced  it  manfully,  his  capital  being  mainly  his  good 
reputation  and  excellent  character.  He  had  two  large  stores 
with  heavy  rent  to  meet  every  month.  He  had  his  purchase 
notes  to  meet  as  they  fell  due,  but  he  never  defaulted.  He  had 
to  purchase  expensive  new  hearses  and  horses,  and  give  his 
personal  attention  to  every  branch  of  the  business,  which  in- 
creased from  day  to  day. 

He  Is  now  thoroughly  equipped  in  every  department,  but  to 
his  undertaking  he  gives  more  of  his  personal  attention  than 
any  other,  and  those  who  employ  him  are  so  well  satisfied  with 
his  work  and  his  charges  that  they  will  recommend  no  other, 
and  his  reputation  has  gone  so  far  abroad  that  his  patronage 
extends  far  and  wide. 

Besides  undertaking  and  furniture  selling  and  repairing,  he 
does  upholstering.  He  supplies  storage  room  and  does  ex- 
pressing, making  a  specialty  of  piano  and  furniture  moving. 
He  is  a  very  busy  man,  and  we  have  great  pleasure  in  present- 
ing hie  portrait  herewith  as  one  of  Oak  Park's  foremost  and 
successful  business  men. 

Mr.  Dreehsler  will  soon  abandon  his  present  premises  to  oc- 
cupy premises  of  his  own,  now  in  course  of  erection  on  the 
north  side  of  Lake  street,  and  ajoining  the  new  Masonic 
building  on  the  east.  There  he  has  in  course  of  erection,  un- 
der the  supervision  of  Architect  Roberts,  a  four-story  building 
of  a  superior  order,  and  constructed  of  steel,  brick  and  stone, 
the  front  being  of  Roman  pressed  brick,  with  Bedford  stone 
trimmings,  the  entire  structure  being  fire-proof,  and  will  be 
the  only  fire-proof  building  west  of  Ashland  avenue,  In  Chi- 
cago. 

The  entrance  to  the  building  will  have  a  Mosaic  floor,  Ro- 
man pressed  brick  wainscoting  and  oak  panel  ceilings.  The 
two  interior  rooms  will  be  finished  according  to  a  special  de- 
tail and  will  be  unsurpassed  by  anything  in  Chicago. 


MR.  WILLIAM  H.  HATCH, 

Whose  portrait  we  present  herewith,  is  an  educationalist  of 
rare  ability.    He  has  been  Superintendent  of  Schools  In  Oak 


Park  since  July  1,  1892,  succeeding  Mr.  B.  L.  Dodge,  who  re- 
signed to  accept  a  more  lucrative  position.  Professor  Hatch 
is  a  native  of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  and  is  52  years  of  age.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  where  he  com- 


121 


menced  his  career  as  a  teacher  In  the  public  schools  In  the 
spring  of  1868.  He  went  thence  to  the  city  of  Duluth  in  1870 
and  organized  the  school  system  of  that  thriving  young  city. 
There  he  was  married  in  the  year  1876  to  the  present  partner 
of  his  joys  and  sorrows.  He  was  afterwards  connected  with 
the  schools  of  Indianapolis,  Council  Bluffs,  Rock  Island  and 
Moline. 

He  came  from  Moline  to  Oak  Park  in  1892  and  has  been  here 
since  then  superintending  our  schools  and  acting  as  secretary 
to  the  Board  of  Education,  at  first  receiving  a  salary  of  $2,500, 
which  was  subsequently  raised  to  $3,500  per  annum.  Mr. 
Hatch  has  held  the  most  cordial  relations  with  the  Board  of 
Education  and  our  corps  of  most  excellent  teachers  as  well  as 
the  patrons  of  the  schools,  since  he  assumed  the  arduous  duties 
of  his  office  in  Oak  Park,  and  his  salary  ha*  been  advanced 
from  time  to  time  without  any  solicitation  on  his  part.  He  is 
considered  "the  right  man  in  the  right  place"  and  his  continu- 
ance in  his  present  position  is  looked  for. 


iness  in  that  line  so  successfully  carried  on  by  Mr.  George 
Nordenholt,  at  140  Lake  street,  he  entered  into  its  puruslt  with 
intelligence  and  a  determination  to  succeed.  That  was  in 


MR.  ALFRED  BURGESS. 

Among  the  many  successful  business  men  of  Oak  Park  no 
one  is  more  marked  than  Mr.  Alfred  Burgess,  the  well-known 
baker,  confectioner,  and  caterer.  Mr.  Burgess  came  here  first 
as  a  resident.  That  was  in  1886.  He  was  then  employed  in 
the  great  wholesale  grocery  house  of  Sprague,  Warner  &  Co., 
of  Chicago.  He  built  for  the  use  of  himselt  and  family  a 
pleasant  home  at  719  Belleforte  avenue.  The  more  he  saw  of 
Oak  Park  and  its  people  the  better  he  liked  them,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  he  determined  to  enter  into  business  here.  His 
knowledge  was  not  by  any  means  confined  to  the  grocery  trade. 
as  he  had  already  had  eighteen  years'  experience  in  the  bak- 
ing, confectionery  and  catering  trade,  and  buying  out  the  bus- 


1894.  He  has  relaxed  no  effort  and  prosperous  as  the  business 
was  before  it  came  into  his  hands,  it  has  been  so  in  a  more 
marked  degree  since.  He  looks  after  every  detail  personally, 


trusting  implicitly  to  no  one,  making  sure  that  everything  is 
always  as  it  should  be. 

He  bakes  no  less  than  seventeen  different  kinds  of  bread 
daily  in  order  to  meet  the  tastes  and  requirements  of  all  his 
customers,  and  the  people  of  Oak  Park  are  fastidious  about 
what  they  eat.  They  will  have  none  but  the  very  best.  He 
makes  cakes  and  pastry  of  every  kind  and  those  who  have  use 
for  wedding  cakes  (who  in  Oak  Park  are  many)  always  leave 
their  orders  with  him  or  his  polite  attendants. 

An  Important  branch  of  his  business  is  the  manufacture  of 
ice  cream  for  private  customers  and  for  the  trade,  and  the 
Burgess  brand. of  this  delicious  article  is  not  surpassed  by 
any  manufactured  in  Chicago  or  anywhere  else. 

Next  in  popularity  with  his  ice  cream  is  his  soda  water, 
which  is  served  from  pure  fountains  with  purest  juices  and 
extracts  by  polite  attendants. 

There  is  a  large  patronage  for  Mr.  Burgess  in  catering  for 
festive  and  social  occasions,  and  the  orders  in  this  branch  of 
his  business  keep  his  telephone  hot. 

Some  three  years  ago  Mr.  Burgess  extended  his  business  by 
opening  a  branch  at  453  North  Boulevard,  which  is  also  a  suc- 
cess, and  the  number  of  his  employes  now  Is  seventeen. 

Herewith  we  have  pleasure  in  presenting  a  most  excellent 
likeness  of  the  man  who  does  so  much  to  appease  our  hunger 
and  minister  to  our  appetites. 


ERASTUS  SIPPERI,Y. 

This  gentleman  Is  a  prominent  manipulator  of  Oak  Park  real 
estate,  his  lots  and  acres  being  mostly  in  the  southern  end  of 
the  town,  where  he  is  constantly  operating  on  a  considerable 
scale,  there  being  no  time  of  year  when  he  falls  to  make  sales. 

He  Is  now  in  the  prime  of  life  and  is  a  most  affable  gentle- 


man. He  Is  a  native  of  Hudson,  New  York,  where  he  was  born 
Sept.  4,  1857,  and  has  passed  his  forty-first  milestone.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town 
and  the  Hudson  academy,  but  was  brought  up  on  a  farm.  He 
came  to  Chicago  In  1878  and  engaged  with  the  management  of 


the  Palmer  House,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years.    In  1888 
he  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business  with  D.  A.  McLean  & 


Co.,  and  six  months  later  entered  into  the  business  on  his  own 
account,  devoting  his  energies  to  the  sale  of  Oak  Park  lota  and 
acres,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  Twelfth  street.  He  first  took 
up  blocks  8  and  9  on  Oak  Park  avenue  and  Twelfth  street,  sub- 
sequently extending  his  interests  until  he  got  control  of  hun- 
dreds of  acres  in  that  vicinity,  and  now  sells  more  Oak  Park 
lots  and  blocks  than  any  other  dealer.  His  property  is  now 
served  by  several  street  railroads,  especially  on  Twelfth  street, 
which  is  destined  in  time  to  be  continued  as  a  business  street 
from  the  city  westward  through  Cicero.  His  city  office  is  in 
the  Owlngs  building,  corner  of  Adams  and  Dearborn  streets. 

Mr.  Sipperly  was  married  in  1882  to  Miss  Charlotte  B.  New- 
man of  Hudson,  New  York,  and  is  the  father  of  a  son,  an  only 
child. 


WARREN  F.  FTJRBECK 

Is  an  old  and  a  well-known  citizen  of  Oak  Park,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  street  railroad  transportation  business  with  Mr. 
C.  T.  Yerkes,  and  is  vice-president  of  the  North  Chi- 
cago Street  Railroad  Company.  He  was  born  at  Duanes- 
burg,  N.  Y.,  in  1848,  and  in  1861  came  with  his  father  to  Chi- 
cago and  settled  in  Oak  Park  in  the  year  1866.  His  wife  is 
one  of  the  Whapels  family,  which  was  the  second  family  to 
settle  here.  Mr.  Purbeck  has  held  many  prominent  positions 
and  was  treasurer  of  the  Oak  Park  Ecclesiastical  Society  that 
preceded  the  Congregational  church,  for  several  years,  and  was 
treasurer  and  clerk  of  the  Congregational  church  for  ten  years. 
He  occupies  for  his  residence  that  beautiful  house  and  fine 
premises  at  Home  avenue  and  Pleasant  street,  a  view  of  which 
is  presented  in  these  pages. 


FERDINAND  HAASE. 

of  Harlem,  referred  to  in  beginning  of  this  Book.) 


RALPH  WADE, 

(Deceased  Oak  Park  Pioneer,  referred  to  in  beginning  of  this  Book.) 


Why  be  your  own 

landlord,  instead  of  paying  rent? 

You  can 

Buy  a  Home  in  Austin  or  Oak  Park, 
same  as  those  in  cut  on 

...Terms 
Same  as  Rent.., 


CROUP    OF    F     A.    HILL'S    HOUSES 

New,  Modern,  Convenient  Houses— Eight  and   Nine  Rooms— Large  Deep  Lots— Wide  Improved 

Streets — Fine  Neighborhood.         Choice  of  Six  now  built 

or  will   build   to   suit.  Get   my   Prices   and    Terms     p      A      j— 1 1 

c  1 1 5  MONROE  ST.,  CHICAGO 


before  buying.. 


NICHOLAS  ARMBRUST 


Palms  to  Rent  for 
Social  Occasions 

Bedding  Plants  and  Vegetable 
Plants  in  Season 

Cut  Flowers  and  Funeral  Designs, 
Garden  and  Flower  Seeds 


OFFICE,  141  LAKE  STREET 


Office  and  Greenhouses 

Corner  Randolph  Street  and  Harlem  Avenue 


THREE  POINTS  OF  EXCELLENCE: 


Careful  in  Execution 

•• Prompt  in  Delivery 


Fair  in  Price 


Geo.  M.  Ambrose 

Progressive  Printer 


1  38  LAKE  STREE  r 


OAK  PARK,  ILL. 


^  -*,  •%,  The  Greatest  Factory  of  Them  All  ^  •*-  '*• 

The  W.  W.  Kimball  Co.,  the   Largest  Producers  of  Pianos  and  Organs  in  Existence.— Their  Present  Factories  One-Half 

Times  Larger  than  Those  of  Any  Similar  Institution. — The  Factories  have  14  Acres  Floor  Space. — With  the 

New  Addition  they  will  then  contain  18  Acres.    This  will  make  the  Works  Double 

the  Size  of  any  Piano  and  Organ  Factory  on  the  Qlobe. 

The  following  description  is  taken  from  a  Chicago  Musical  Journal,  and  as  the  establishment  is  one  with  which 
Oak  Park  people  are  identified,  it  will  prove  of  much  interest: 


It  is  always  a  pleasant  duty  for 
an  editor  to  chronicle  facts.  Hence 
it  is  a  pleasure  at  this  time  to  state 
in  these  columns  that  we  have  in 
the  city  of  Chicago,  the  largest  pro- 
ducing Piano  and  Organ  factories 
in  the  world.  The  W.  W.  Kimball 
Co.  are  not  only  the  largest  pro- 
ducers by  one- half,  but  their  present 
factories  are  one-half  time  larger  than 
those  of  any  similar  establishment. 

This  is  not  all.  This  great  cor- 
poration will  shortly  commence 
work  on  an  additional  building,  80  x  400  feet  in  dimensions, 
and  five  stories  in  height.  This,  with  the  present  mammoth 
factories,  will  give  the  institution  18  acres  of  floor  space. 

The  capacity  of  the  present  works  is  50  organs  and  40 
pianos  per  day.  The  company  are  at  present  turning  out,  in 
midsummer,  38  pianos  and  45  organs  per  day.  The  necessity 
for  immediate  extension  of  the  present  works  for  the  fall 
trade  is  apparent.  When  the  proposed  addition  is  finished, 
these  mammoth  factories  will  have  a  total  capacity  of  55 
pianos  and  60  organs  a  day. 

Seeing  is  believing,  and  when  a  representative  of  the 
Indicator,  in  company  with  an  official  of  the  Kimball  corpo- 


ration,  visited  these  enormous  fact- 
ories last  week  and  tramped  for  a 
whole  half  day,  without  cessation, 
over  the  different  floors  of  this 
institution,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  half  had  not  been  told  about 
the  great  Kimball  Factories. 

There  the  Indicator  man  saw,  in 
midsummer  at  that,  1,325  employes 
at  work  on  full  time.  There  he  also 
saw  machinery  that  saves  the  labor 
of  as  many  more  as  are  now  em- 
ployed, men  unloading  lumber  and 
coal  from  vessels  at  the  extensive  shipping  docks,  and  rail- 
road freight  cars  passing  through  the  lower  courts  of  the  big 
building  and  stopping  only  long  enough  to  take  on  the  38 
pianos  and  40  organs,  the  day's  output,  for  shipment  to  all 
parts  of  the  civilized  world.  There  he  saw  many  things  that 
go  to  make  up  the  whole  of  the  greatest  institution  of  the 
kind  on  earth.  Not  only  skilled  labor  and  intricate  machinery, 
but  everything  that  makes  a  model  piano  and  organ  factory, 
backed  by  unquestioned  financial  standing,  sufficient  to  make 
and  market  a  thousand  pianos  and  organs  a  day  if  the  corpo- 
ration saw  fit  to  undertake  the  task.  -  The  Indicator, Chicago. 


- 


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